Little Sister
by JadeLiv
Summary: I, with a rat as a father and four turtles for brothers, may possibly have the most peculiar life imaginable. I'm tellin' ya, there's never a dull moment. (Mainly following the 03' series)
1. Chapter 1

**Mostly following the 2003 series. I'll try to throw in a little of the 2012 series and 2014 movie. I'll for sure throw in the 2007 movie in the future though.**

 **I had this story up before but pulled it down due to lack of time but I'm trying again, so to my loyal followers and to the new ones I might receive, please enjoy.**

—

The sewer conflicted me. It was kind of stinky but it was peaceful. The only noise I could hear was the small stream of water rushing in the middle of the tunnel, and the occasional drip of water falling from the dark ceiling. It was all so calming. I felt as though I didn't have to keep turning over my shoulder for one of the bad guys to snatch me again. I walked for what seemed like hours until a heavy wave of exhaustion swept over me, finally forcing me to sink against the damp brick wall. I sat there for hours. Actually, I really didn't know. It _felt_ like hours.

Then I heard someone clear their throat.

My head snapped around.

That sound came from… A rat?

It stood a few feet away from me wearing red robes. It held a walking stick and had a very curious look in it's large, glassy brown eyes. It _was_ a rat, right? I saw plenty at that place those bad guys kept me at but they were all so small. Rats weren't big? This one was even bigger than me!

"Who are you?" It asked, completely catching me off guard. It could _talk_? That bothered me a little. Animals couldn't talk? This was like some kind of fairy tale.

I shrugged at his question and told him I didn't know. I had always just been called 'The Girl'.

The rat scrunched his brows together, indifferently tilting his head to the side slightly, "Then if you do not know who are, how did you come to be here?"

In a way, his voice relaxed me. Even through the roughness, it was kind. A voice that sounded trustworthy. As I studied him more, his appearance began less odd and less alarming. It was the fact that he _wasn't_ human that kept me from running in fear. His entire presence seemed to soothe me in a way I really didn't understand. My muscles were allowed to relax and the tension I had been feeling had nearly disappeared.

"Bad guys," I croaked, my voice suddenly cracking. _Really? Tears?_ I didn't want to sound so helpless. Crying in front of the bad guys was never a good idea. That resulted in punishments.

His brown eyes scanned the exposed skin my shorts and shirt didn't cover. He didn't say anything but the worry that flashed in his eyes told me that he noted the scars that covered my flesh. The results of the punishments. I could tell he didn't like them any more than I did. My scars made me self-conscious the way it was. I avoided his eyes during the long moment of silence and tucked my arms under my armpits, feeling uncomfortable underneath such a lengthy stare.

"And you are... alone?"

 _Alone._ It didn't really strike me until he said it. I didn't remember who my family was. Did I even have a family? Who did I have? No one? I nodded slowly, unsure of where that question was headed.

The rat's ears twitched thoughtfully and his long jaw clenched in a very concerned manner. I definitely wasn't prepared for his question that followed the long silence, "My name is Hamato Splinter. If you would like, you may come to my home and stay with my sons and I."

I stared at him in shock. I wasn't expecting an invitation to start a new life, especially not by a five foot tall rat. Despite my surprise, not only being asked to live with him, but the fact that I was talking to a giant rat wearing clothes in the sewers, I made my decision quickly. I had nowhere else to go. My heart even swelled up a tiny bit as I broke into a small, timid smile and gave a slight nod.

Hamato Splinter returned a warm smile and gestured for me to follow him down the tunnel. I stuck close. I already knew from hours earlier how easily it was to get lost in these tunnels. As we traveled, it got more dark. The walls lost their brownish appearance and began looking more as though they were made of black ice from the moisture. The tunnels themselves became more intoxicating and it felt as though the walls were closing in and creating a smaller space. I didn't like small spaces. The bad guys always had held me in a small spaces. Hamato Splinter seemed to notice this. He glanced over his shoulder from time to time, casting a semi-concerned look.

"How old are you?" He asked. He seemed to be getting my mind off the claustrophobia I was feeling. It worked.

I held up my fingers, holding them high enough for him to see, "I'm five."

The rat gave me an approving nod. He looked impressed, "You are a year younger than my sons."

"How many sons do you have?"

"Four. They are a very..." He paused as though searching for the right word, "Colorful bunch, but I think you will come to enjoy their company as time passes."

My curiosity started getting the better of me but I had to bite my tongue from bursting out into about a billion _trillion_ questions. Many moments passed by before Hamato Splinter stopped suddenly, almost causing me to collide with his backside. I had noticed that he had been giving me very confused, skeptical glances while we had been walking through the tunnel but I was now receiving a full on odd expression from him.

"How are you not afraid of me if you mind me asking?"

Confused, I tilted my head, "Why would I be?"

Hamato Splinter almost looked taken back from my comment. He raised a furry brow, "Because I am different from you. I am not normal like you."

I blinked. What was even normal anymore? Sure, he looked different but what difference did that make? Humans weren't trustworthy, at least in my opinion they weren't. I was willing to give a rat a shot. He seemed nice enough. I tried to choose my next words carefully, "Well... you just look different. That doesn't mean that you _are_ different. I don't think that's not a very good reason to be afraid... right?"

Hamato Splinter seemed to consider that thoughtfully before breaking out a small smile, "No, I guess it's not," He agreed.

Then we continued on in silence. It felt like we were taking forever, taking what seemed like the most random turns down long stretches of tunnel that were almost identical to the last. Bags of trash and random junk contaminated the sewer waters and it took some effort to walk around it all. Soon, I felt like we were just starting to walk in circles. My legs started getting wobbly. I felt my eyes starting to droop.

"We are here." Hamato Splinter said warmly, noticing the heavy exhaustion.

We turned into a dead end. I gave him a confused sideways glance as if to say " _What the heck?_ " but as we approached the back wall, I noticed a hole that had been broken into the the corner. Unless you walked all the way to the back wall of the dead end, you would have never even seen the hole. Clever. I wondered how Splinter found it in the first place. Or perhaps he made it himself?

Hamato Splinter led me through the hole and we entered into a rather large area. Yellow lights dimmed, giving it a settling glow. Despite being in the sewer, it was actually pretty cozy looking. There was a couch with the sound of a TV coming from the other side. I could hear laughter following the dialogue of some cartoon that I didn't recognize.

Hamato Splinter stopped and tapped his walking stick on the ground. Four green creatures immediately jumped over the backside of the couch, "Father!" They all cheered happily.

Their loud shouts and sudden movement frightened me. I hid behind Hamato Splinter at the commotion, peeking out from behind him. His sons looked like... were they turtles? Not rats like himself. They all stopped short almost simultaneously when they spotted me. Four pairs of curious eyes sidestepped to see who was hiding behind their father's robes.

"Father… wh-who is that?" One of them asked.

Hamato Splinter looked down at me and put his paw on my head, stroking my hair lightly, "This is... Jade. She will be staying with us from now on."

 _Jade._ I liked it. Looking back at the four small, green turtles, I nodded with a small, timid smile.

The four turtles took a moment to comprehend their father's words. All but one decided that since Hamato Splinter was okay with it, so were they.

One of the turtles put his hand on his plastron, "I'm Leonardo but you can call me Leo."

"Donatello... Or Donnie... Or Don. Doesn't matter."

The turtle who was the lightest shade of green waved and broke into a huge grin. He seemed to be the most excited of all four, "I'm Michelangelo! You can call me Mikey!"

The last turtle crossed his arms and glared at me. He didn't tell me his name himself, Michelangelo did it for him, "That's Raphael. Or Raph. He's kind of grumpy... But like, _all_ the time."

Raphael scowled at Michaelangelo before glaring back at me, "She shouldn't be here Sensei. This is _our_ home. Not a orphanage for lost puppies."

I bit my lip at the hostility in Raphael's eyes.

"An orphanage is for human children, Raph. Not puppies," Donatello pointed out, crossing his arms and throwing a very disappointed look at his brother.

"Does it look like I care?" Raphael growled.

"She is going to stay here for she has nowhere else to go Raphael," Hamato Splinter said sternly, "We, of all should know how that feels."

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, avoiding his eyes and backing myself behind Hamato Splinter's robes.

There was a long moment of silence before I heard Raphael breath out a small defeated huff, "Whateva, but she ain't sleepin' on my bed."

There was a small hint of understanding that flashed in his hard eyes but he blinked it away, not wanting me to see the emotion. I could tell that Raphael was the tough macho guy of the family.

Hamato Splinter gently placed his paw on my back and nudged me from out behind him, "Show her the extra bedroom where we keep the spare blankets. She can sleep in there," He began to walk over toward a doorless room, filled with dozens of flickering candles, "I would like to speak to you in the morning Jade, if that would be alright?" He looked back questioningly.

I nodded, "Sure. And... Thank you Hamato Splinter."

Hamato Splinter gave me a smile, "Please, call me Splinter." He said before entering the candle lit room.

I turned back to the turtles. All of them were giving me curious stares including Raphael. Donatello took a gulp as he took a couple small steps forward with his fingers fiddling together nervously.

"Um... What does your skin feel like?" He asked nervously. His eyes kept glancing quickly at my lightly toned flesh curiously.

I shrugged, "What do your scales feel like?"

Donatello's eyes darted up thoughtfully but he didn't answer. I lifted my arm up and held it out to him, "You can touch my skin if you want."

He hesitated for a few seconds before slowly letting his three fingered hand lightly brush the back of my hand and forearm. As he grew more comfortable and trustworthy of me, he grabbed my hand and flipped it over, examining my palm and tracing the lines of it with his fingers; glowing with excitement. Michelangelo eagerly stepped forward and stuck out the pointer finger of his hand and poked my arm several times, starting slowly but eventually gaining speed with each poke.

"Your skin is squishy," He laughed as he began poking my arm faster and faster like it was some intense game. I giggled softly as Leonardo grabbed him by the shell, yanking him back with a slight roll of his bright blue eyes.

"Come on, let's show Jade where she's gonna sleep."

They brought me to a room next to a small, setup kitchen. The bedroom was kind of tiny, but it was doable. Definitely better sleeping quarters than I've had in long time. There was a mattress in the corner and stacks of thick comforters next to it. I sat down on the mattress and smiled. _Its nice to have something soft to sleep on now._ I looked back up at the turtles.

"Thanks," I said softly.

Leonardo and Donatello nodded their heads in sync. Raphael said nothing.

Michelangelo however, bounced. He brushed off my thanks and moved onto a new subject, "Aren't you gonna ask us who we are?"

I didn't fully understand the question but all four of them kept a lengthy stare on me, waiting for my answer, "You're Michelangelo, and you're Leonardo. Donatello, and Raphael," I pointed to each of them as I said their name.

My response wasn't what they were looking for, apparently. Raph rolled his eyes irritably, "Obviously. We mean, why ain't ya askin' why we're talkin' animals."

I had to admit I was curious. Splinter asked me the same question, worded differently, when he was walking with me in the sewer. My answer seemed to impress him and I'd do just the same here, "Well… aren't you gonna ask who I am?"

The answer obviously was still opposite of what the four green turtles were looking for, but my answer this time caught all of them by surprise.

"You're a human," Donatello stated.

I nodded, "And you're a turtle."

"Don't you care where we came from?" Leonardo tilted his head.

I shrugged, "Are you mean?"

Michelangelo slowly turned to Raphael, "Mean?"

"I ain't mean!"

I shook my head, "Not that kind of mean. Like… hurt people kind of mean."

I could tell that they were all unsure of why I was asking the question I was asking. I wasn't really in the mood to explain my backstory and I could tell that everyone with the exception of Michelangelo didn't really feel comfortable sharing theirs either.

"Master Splinter says that we're destined to protect the people of New York, not hurt them," Leonardo answered after a moment of silence. His brows were narrowed just slightly as he did, "Someday we'll go up to the streets and do incredible things."

He said it with confidence. I believed him, "Then I guess I don't really care why you're talking animals. I don't like really like humans."

"But, you're a human?" Donatello said once again.

"Ya, but all the humans I've ever known are mean. I know there are good ones too but I don't know any of them," I shuffled my feet on the concrete floor, "I'm glad you're not human."

Maybe my words weren't the smartest. They seemed to be double crossing themselves over what their Master Splinter had told them, about being "destined" to protect the people of New York. I didn't fully understand what that meant but they seemed to take it hard after me telling them that I, as a human, didn't like humans.

But for once, Raphael broke into a smirk before breaking into what really looked like a fake yawn, "I'm goin' ta bed."

The rest of the turtles seemed to follow through, all murmuring a "Good Night" to me before filing out. They all, Leonardo especially, had thoughtful creases formed from considering faces, still thinking about I've said.

Michelangelo was the only who looked back, beaming from ear to ear, "I've always wanted a sister."

I smiled, feeling my cheeks grow a little hot.

He walked out of the doorway for a moment, then poked his head in one last time, "Our room is right next to yours, just so ya know! Good night Jade!"

"Good night Michelangelo."

"Mikey."

I chuckled, "Right. Mikey."

He gave me a small wink before leaving me to haul one of the comforters onto the bed. I curled myself in it, letting the heat radiat. Only a few hours ago, I was a hostage. Now I live with a family of abnormal, talking animals. No. They weren't abnormal. They were more normal than the bad guys had been. I'd never felt more safe in my life than I did now.

 _I've always wanted a sister._ I smiled, letting my heart jump as I fell asleep to that thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Training today was all about stealth. Being a ninja, that was pretty important. Perhaps one of the most important factors.

"Remember... to become a true ninja, you must become one with the shadows. Darkness gives the ninja power while light reveals the ninjas presence," Master Splinter kneeled on the ground, holding his walking stick horizontally in the air with a flickering candle balancing on it's side. "Now, can you extinguish this flame without revealing yourselves?" He flicked his walking stick, catching the candle in mid air before shutting his eyes.

As simple as the task was, Master Splinter was also a rat with very keen hearing and absolutely incredible senses for his surroundings. He was always able to tell when we were outside his room, eavesdropping or if we were simply up when it was late at night. So ultimately, the simple task became easier said than done. While Mikey, Donnie and Raph quickly hid in the shadows of the living room, Leo nudged me and glanced up at the ceiling. This was something we'd been planning since the last time we'd done this lesson. Nobody had been able to get the candle from Splinter so far but today, Leo and I were going to be the first.

I gave my brother a boost up to the ceiling. I wasn't entirely as strong as he was, but I was able to give him enough momentum to get him up. After he situated himself, he dropped a hand and pulled me up. Adjusting ourselves, Master Splinter was just below.

We got the front row view of Donnie diving for the candle, only to miscalculate and crash into the brick wall on the other side of Splinter.

 _Ouch._

"Too noisy Donatello," Splinter chuckled.

Mikey was next. He ended up in the same boat as Donnie.

"Too clumsy Michelangelo."

Raph's tactic was so incredibly stupid that I was a bit embarrassed to say I've trained with him for so long. To the normal human being, our stealth would be unnoticeable but when you've had years of training and experience in that particular field, there was a huge difference between _silent_ and _invisible._ With sais in hand, Raph actually tried to catch Splinter from behind, and to no one's surprise, Splinter ducked to avoid the dive to the head. Raph landed on the ground with a heavy thud and a slight huff. He immediately got to his feet and tried counter-attacking. Splinter easily maneuvered from a low kick to the shoulder, using his walking stick to trip Raph and send him into the wall just as he had done with Mikey and Donnie. The three frustrated turtles groaned from the impact.

"Poor choice Raphael."

My blue banded brother gave me a small nod, an indication to drop down. I knew the plan. I knew exactly what we were doing. It was a very very simple concept that Master Splinter taught us a long long time ago. _Distraction._

I purposely dropped to the ground as loudly as I possibly could. Splinter opened his eyes, a bit surprised with my blatant tactic. He frowned, disappointed, and widely seen his walking stick just as he'd done with the other three turtles. As I blocked his attack, Leo dropped from the ceiling beams and with his katana unsheathed. The blade cut the candle easily, like butter. In that half-second moment, Splinter turned to Leo and I took the opportunity to unhook one of my two escrima sticks from my belt. I caught, just barely, the burning flame on the side of my metal weapon.

I stepped back, along with Leo. Splinter smiled, impressively, in the darkness as I held the candle up to Leo. He blew it out with a pleased smirk. Our plan had worked perfectly.

A moment later, the lights turned on.

"Very good Jade and Leonardo," Master Splinter praised, giving us an approving nod, "Your teamwork was exceptional."

I felt Mikey wrap his arm around my neck and give me a rough noogie, "A 10 for major style."

"Teacher's pets," Raph muttered under his breath. His arms were crossed over plastron with his fists in balls and his jaw clenched in annoyance. He never did like failing a lesson to the eldest or youngest. Hell, he didn't like failing, period. None of us did but Raph was always such a hothead about it.

Leo snapped his head around, giving the red banded turtle a glare, "Ninja dropout," He retorted coldly.

Leo wasn't usually the greatest with comebacks but _that_ was beautiful.

Donnie, Mikey and I put our hand up to our mouths at the same time, "OOOOO..." Snickering as the two eldest stood inches away from each other, moments away from breaking out into a giant death match.

"My sons!" Master Splinter put a paw to his forehead irritably, "My sons. My daughter. If you are to become true ninja, you must work harder. Your path in life will not be an easy one. The outside world will not be a friendly place for you. You four are different in ways the surface dwellers would never understand," He glanced over at me," "And you are wanted by many up top. To survive, you all must master these skills I teach you."

Words we'd, _I've,_ been hearing for years now. It was one of the first things Splinter talked to me about the morning after he'd brought me into his home. A long discussion, just the two of us, about where I came from and the obvious portion of how I meant something to somebody based on the scars that were delicately crisscrossed along my arms, my stomach, my back, just about everywhere except for my face. They all stuck out, white as fish bones on the tan pigment of my flesh. Though, I was never comfortable telling him details. Not that I really remembered too much of those days. It was all blurry. Probably for the best anyway. When I'd declined to talk about it with him, he brought up the subject of his existence. How he and the turtles were who they were. He explained everything and most importantly, that he was training the turtles in the art of ninjutsu. Needless to say, I was offered the opportunity to join in his trainings.

The rest was history now. That was eleven years ago.

Just as Splinter finished his sentence, the ground shook. A vibration that made the entire room move. I heard breakables and china fall off shelves in Splinter's room and the light hanging from the ceiling began to swing. I pressed my palm against the wall beside me, which felt like a jackhammer. The whole room felt like a jackhammer, but the wall I pressed myself against was incredibly strong.

"What? What is that noise?" Splinter quickly got to his feet.

"Whoa… Earthquake!" Mikey croaked over the rumbling.

"In New York? Possible but not likely," Donnie answered thoughtfully.

I felt the wall behind my hand begin crumble suddenly and I was completely unprepared for what knocked me down. It was an anchor on my chest, pressing down my ribcage rather hurtfully. Some small metal… thing. A robot the size of a large bird. It even kind of looked like a bird. It stood on two legs and the body of chicken. The head was oversized, a large oval. It was a disproportionate figure. It opened it's shiny jaws and revealed to long rows of sharp teeth. I didn't have to time to do anything, not even breath let alone try to get get it off. Thankfully, a red sai was spiked into it's skull.

"Thanks," I said, heaving in relief as my brothers hand pulled me to my feet.

Raph nodded gruffly, "Ya ain't allowed to go down that easy, kiddo."

"What are those things?" Leo asked, taking a defensive stance.

"New York city cockroaches?" Mikey joked.

"I was gonna say chickens," I gave, earning a shrug.

Raph spun his sais in his hands. "Whateva they are, they picked the wrong party ta crash!"

The robots were easy enough to attack. No competitive combat was really necessary. Some could jump but it was the large number of them that was concerning. Our living room had an ocean of shiny, snapping heads. Living or broken, they were scattered throughout our home in a indescribable number. Where were they all coming from?

"Sensei?!" Leo called, raising an alarm for my brothers and I.

Father was cornered on the other side of the living room. Majority of the robots eyed him down with their red eyes.

In minutes, I was by his side being that I'd been closest to him. My brothers were still back a ways, now trying to keep the invaders off the wooden support pillars connected to the ceiling. The robots were just gnawing through them like they were nothing. It wasn't long before the ceiling began to crumble. Bit by bit and it wasn't until Donnie yelled, "Look out!" that I realized the entirety of the ceiling was coming down. Cement fell in large chunks. Dirt showered the air. Something connected with my head and a sharp pain followed. I felt a warm substance spill down the side of my face but it wasn't my priority. Dust swirled, choking my sense.

It seemed like forever, but the rumbling subsided. A few pebbles continued to break off from the ceiling but for the most part, the worst of it was over. The living room, wasn't a living room anymore. A pile of rock and cement covered up what used to be my home.

 _Where was Master Splinter? Where were my brothers?_

I heard a dull groan somewhere behind me. It was Splinter. I scrambled to my feet and I ran over to find him beginning to sit up, rubbing his head. Thick blood matted the fur on his forearm but other than that, he seemed relatively alright. Perhaps a bit shaken up if anything. I was too.

"Sensei, are you alright?" I asked him worriedly, eyeing the nasty cut.

He rubbed his forehead, "Yes.. I am.. Fine," He looked up at me, seeing the gash and blood running down my face. He looked so worried that If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was going to be sick. "Jade, my daughter, are _you_ okay?"

"I'm alright..." I was cut off by the familiar ringing of the Shell Cell. Splinter took it out of his robe and flipped the cover open.

"Hmm..." He mumbled as he began pushing buttons on it, "Which button do you press to answer this thing?"

I could hear Leo's voice through the phone, " _Master Splinter? Are you alright? Is Jade okay?_ "

Master Splinter was still pushing buttons, "Hello? Stupid device."

I rolled my eyes, giggling at his confusion. Splinter wasn't much of a rat for anything technological, even if all his kids had shown him how to use it more than a couple times, "Sensei... you don't have to press any buttons. You've already answered the call."

"Uh... Right. Leonardo, whatever those mechanical menaces are, they have managed to eat through the support structure of our home. We must leave right away. Meet Jade and I at the old drainage junction."

" _We'll meet you two there,"_ Leo replied before ending the call.

I slowly got to my feet. The living room wasn't much of a living room anymore. Just a small wasteland of rubble and scattered robot parts. Luckily, the entrance to our home was still intact but I wondered how my brothers were going to get out and meet us at the drainage junction.

"How much do you want to bet they're going to go topside?" I asked Splinter.

"They have never been to the surface by themselves," He sighed, his ears flattening in worry.

"They're old enough to take care of themselves," I told him, trying to be in the least bit encouraging, "You said yourself that it was about time that they were given the chance to go topside anyway."

Splinter raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think they won't find trouble?" It wasn't really a question with the slight sarcasm that dripped in his voice.

I shrugged, still trying to play off a convincing expression. No, I didn't think they wouldn't find trouble because they _always_ find trouble. Those four had a gift for getting into trouble even if they weren't looking for it. Trouble found them, "They'll be fine. Leo will make sure they aren't up there for longer than they need to. You made him our team leader for a reason."

"I suppose so," Splinter mumbled, not sounding entirely convinced. I understood his worry but I knew I had a point too. The overprotectiveness of my father had to slide a little for the time being. They were old enough to do this. In my opinion, it was a little overdue.

We walked down the sewer in silence until we reached the drainage junction. We were met with silence. _They definitely went topside._ It didn't take very long at all to get from our old home to the drainage junction. In fact, they should have been here before Splinter and I.

"Ah, the old drainage junction," Master Splinter said out loud, looking around, "Now where are my sons?"

I shot my father a sideways glance, "Can't you guess?"

Just as he casted an annoyed, warning look, the ground began to shake again.

"Not again!" My voice shouted over the noise.

The middle of the floor began to crack and break apart. A small army of the familiar robots came crawling out from the ground like roaches. Not quite as many as before, thankfully. They were easy enough to defeat. Splinter and I left them broken and shattered as quickly as they showed up. I was just kind of weirded out by how they were always attracted to Splinter. He was a magnet or something to them.

Unfortunately, there was no celebration for our small victory. The floor crumbled and our feet went out from under us. We landed in the next tunnel system below. The impact of the hard cement floor on my body hit me like a truck. I groaned and lightly poked my forehead where some fresh blood started trickling down my face. I wiped some of it off as I slowly got to my feet. My head felt a little woozy.

"Jade. Are you alright?"

I nodded slowly, "Ya ya. I'm good. Just a little fresh blood that's all," I kept putting my hand up to my forehead and looking at the blood that stained my hands, "Donnie will have to take a look at it, though."

"Come look at this." Splinters simple command surprised me momentarily. I hadn't even noticed the large hole in the wall a couple yards away. An opening to a surprisingly large area. Right at the entrance was a staircase leading down to a lower level. There were doors leading off to smaller rooms and a balcony on the upper level.

"What is this place?"

"I am not sure but it looks to be abandoned," Splinter sniffed the air, "Nobody has been here for a very long time."

I turned to him suddenly, "Do you think…?"

"This place has much potential," He smiled lightly, "I will meet your brothers at the junction, you may stay here, if you'd like?"

I nodded and watched him leave before setting my hand on the railing and slowly made my way down the cement steps. At the base of the stairs, I stared at the large empty space that had a fine layer of dust and rubble. I could almost imagine a TV set up with one of Mikey's video games set up on the far side of the room and having the youngest brothers eyes glued to the screen. This place was perfect. The size was more than enough for my family. So much better than the home before, no matter how heartbreaking it was to think that it was gone.

Maybe some things happen for a reason? I guess we just had to spare a little blood for it.

After minutes of letting my eyes wander around the room, I heard Michelangelo's voice from outside the entrance. He was complaining and assuming just as he usually does.

"No offense Master Splinter but this place doesn't seem so great."

I rolled my eyes. _Typical Michelangelo._

Splinters gravelly voice attempted to sound encouraging, "Look with your heart Michelangelo and not your eyes."

"Uhhm… Okay?"

There was a short pause. Then a loud smack.

"Ow!"

I giggled, visualizing Mikey rubbing the back of his head and glaring at one of three brothers that had hit him. I leaned against the railing at the bottom of the steps as they entered through the hole of a doorway with a few gasps of awe escaping from their mouths until they found me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, meeting me with a worried expression.

I totally forgot about the blood on my face.

"Nothing dear Donatello can't fix up," I grinned reassuringly.

Lucky for me, Donnie had his duffel bag with him. His Mary Poppins handbag as we called it, "What else am I here for?"

I chuckled and let him get to work on cleaning me up while everyone else explored the new place, mainly on Michelangelo who was running upstairs and claiming every single room.

"Uh Mikey… That last room at the end of the hall, I already claimed it," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well okay," He looked crestfallen, but only for a split second, "Since you're my favorite sister, I'll let you have that one. But the rest are mine!"

Donnie shook his head with a slight roll of his eyes, "She's your only sister Mikey."

He slid down the railing of the stairs and landed in front of us, grinning from ear to ear, "Which makes her my favorite!"

I chuckled as Donnie finished up bandaging my head, "Thanks Don," I smiled gratefully.

"Of course Jade," He put his spare supplies in his bag, "Just let me know if you feel light headed or woozy again in the next few hours. You could have a concussion."

"Will do."

Satisfied, Donnie turned for his first real good look at the new space, "I could really tune this place up."

I walked over to the middle of the room where Leo and Master Splinter stood, studying the layout.

"You see my children. Change is good."

Leo beamed, "We couldn't agree more Master Splinter," He replied.

"Good," Master Splinter smirked and snapped his fingers, "Now let's see you all clean up for a change. This chamber is filthy."

His voice was cut off by the sounds of whines and moans, "Aw man."


	3. Chapter 3

It took us almost four weeks to clean up and move into the new lair. With Splinters blessing, now that the boys had finally been topside, we were allowed out at night to loot junk yards and dumps for anything we could find. Donnie and I fixed up plenty and it was amazing what people threw away. TV's, computers, perfectly good couches and seating. We found a whole dinning room set. Raph got his hands on a weight lifting set and a new punching bag and I wasn't sure I'd ever seen him more happy in my life. Our new home was still a little bland on the decorations but after two months of constant work, everything was really shaping up. We had a full kitchen, two fully functioning bathrooms, and a complete living room. Donnie's new lab wasn't as complete as he'd like, as most of the tools he wanted weren't just going to be lying around at a junkyard, but it was getting there. I'd convinced him, since his lab was basically the size of the massive dojo we had, to turn half of it into an infirmary.

This place was exactly what we needed.

Mikey pushed the TV into place on its stand, he scrambled to the electric outlet to plug it in and when he did, there was only static. My brother then grabbed the remote and clicked the buttons furiously, so fast I was preparing myself to have to go out to find a new one.

"Geeze Mikey! Can you slow down?"

Donnie hung from some cables and worked on the electricity up on the high wall, "What's the matter Mikey?" He called, "Can't decide what to watch?"

"I need more power captain! The Turtle Cave must be set for a maximum entertainment potential," Mikey ignored my plea and continued his rampage on the remote.

Donnie put his hands on his hips after jumping down, "The Turtle Cave? That is so lame."

"You're going to break that remote Mikey," I tried again. When I got no response, I threw my arms up at Donnie in an effort to say, _Help?_

Donnie shook his head, trying not to laugh. He leisurely walked up behind the orange banded turtle and from over his shoulder, tapped a button on the remote, and the TV magically turned right. The channel it currently sat on some cartoon.

"I got it!" Mikey shouted excitedly, "Donnie would be so proud!"

I rolled my eyes. Splinter, who was sitting beside me, set the training dummy that he'd been sewing up aside, "Now, what is keeping Leonardo and Raphael?"

I dragged the dummy to the wall next to the door of the new dojo, "I'm sure Leo wasn't going to leave until everything last bit of rubble had been shifted in the old lair. He wouldn't want to leave a thing behind."

Donnie skipped over to a table set up with parts of the mechanical robots lying on it. He had stuffed them in his bag when we had gone back to grab our belongings from our old home, "And with the way the new Sewer Slider is performing, they'll make it home a lot faster."

The Sewer Slider. A hovercraft Donnie invented that's far after our time, as technology goes, which he built with scraps of junk and scrap metal. It was small enough to use in the tight tunnels of the sewer, making traveling and transportation much faster. One trip to the old lair and back took a good two hours when hauling our old junk. The Sewer Slider cut that time in half.

Master Splinter walked up behind Donnie and gave an uneasy look at the robot pieces on the table, "Even though they are inactive, they still worry me Donatello."

Donnie lifted the head of one of the robots and looked at his reflection in the shiny metal, "This is state-of-the-art robotics Sensei. Brilliant work. I just gotta know what makes them tick."

"If you do happen to make them tick," Mikey started. He had his begging face on, "Can I have one or two? Or eight?"

I rose a brow at him, "What would you want those things for?"

"I could use a few personal servants?"

"Why? So you can be more lazy than you already are?" I had to maneuver myself over the couch before Mikey had a chance to come over and swipe at me. He knew it was true.

On the other side of the lair, a light rumbling of the Sewer Slider signaled the return of the two eldest siblings. The rest of our belongings from our old lair was boxed up in the back… which wasn't a lot. It wasn't like we had a world of personal items or anything. We'd only just begun going topside. What old things we had had either washed down into the sewer tunnels or Splinter had collected them at some point for us.

The first thing Leo pulled from the boxes were Mikey's superhero DVD's. A good call. Mikey had been complaining about how much he missed them and nobody here really enjoyed Mikey's complaining. He had a tendency to repeat his complaints like a four year old, going on and on until someone acknowledged him. Most of the time, it was Raph taking a swing.

The orange banded turtle whistled gleefully at the sight of his precious discs and turned on the TV behind him. I couldn't imagine what we were going to be forced to watch first. Probably Daredevil, which don't get me wrong, is a great movie but not after a thousand, million times.

The TV automatically turned to cable, which Donnie had successfully set up for us. The voice of a news lady sounded throughout the room.

" _In a press conference today at Stocktronics Incorporated, New York's leading technology firm.."_

Mikey faked a yawn, "Boring." He was about to switch the channel when Donnie stopped him,

"Wait, I want to see this."

" _... founder and CEO doctor Baxter Stockman was on hand to unveil his latest innovation,"_

An older African American man in a white suit appeared on the screen. " _All wise men once said 'Build a better mousetrap and the world will be the path to your door.' ...Today I say let the path speaking begin; For I, Baxter Stockman have designed a solution to the city's ever growing rat problem."_ He gestured toward the ground, where a white sheet was covering something. " _I give you.. the ultimate expression of mouse termination technologies. The Stocktronics Mouser. "_ He pulled the sheet off, revealing one of the familiar, shiny robots.

We all let out a surprised gasp. Donnie was still holding the mousers head, "I can't believe that the famous Baxter Stockman would try to pass off these killer robot guys as a good thing."

Mikey took the robot head from him and began making it talk like a puppet, but I wasn't listening. There was something vaguely familiar about Baxter Stockman but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I kept my eyes on him, studying his rounded glasses and his sharp facial features as he kept talking to the screen.

 _Where have I seen him?_

I felt Leo give my shoulder a nudge. He'd been watching me. I could tell by the curious look in his expression. I shook my head, muttering I would talk to him later. I wanted to hear more from the TV but apparently would hear nothing else as Raph turned off the screen. Steam may as well have been blowing out of his ears. _Here we go._

"I say we head over to Stocktronics and kick some serious ass." Raph started towards the stairs until Master Splinter blocked his path.

"Absolutely not," He used his walking stick to hit Raph's head when my brother tried to step around him," You can ill afford to be seen by more humans. You're lucky I let you go off to find supplies for our home."

I remembered Mikey telling me how they were forced to go to the surface to get to the drainage junction after our old home was destroyed. No surprise there but I could remember the look on Splinters face when they told us about how they were attacked by a gang of thugs who called themselves the Purple Dragons; then later attacked by ninjas wearing black pajama-like suits. A thrilling night, I was sure. I honestly wished I could have been there. I don't know what kind of people would play dress up in little ninja outfits but even without stepping foot on the streets, I knew that New York would have folks of all odd sorts.

Before Raph could complain, Baxter Stockman came back on screen when Donnie turned the TV back on. Baxter stood beside another girl who looked like she was in her early twenties with her strawberry orange hair pulled back in a tight knot.

" _My assistant, Ms. April O'Neal will release several rats into the simulation chamber,"_

April held a box with half a dozen rats inside and walked over to what looked like a small maze. She dumped the mice into the maze and watched them run around, getting lost with the many dead ends. Baxter Stockman held a mouser in his hands and gently set it down at the entrance of the maze.

 _"Now observe the sheer genius of my mouser in action,"_

The mouser started to run through the maze, grabbing rats with its two powerful steel jaws; Tearing them apart. I could hear the awful shrieks of pain from the rats. It was brutal, almost barbaric.

 _"... And the mouse search and retrieval was a success..."_

I turned off the TV, unable to watch anymore in fear that my stomach would heave. Even Donnie couldn't argue with me on that one, "Well that explains why the mousers were so interested in you Sensei. They were programmed to attack rats."

"Man, I would hate to be a rat in this town," He glanced at Master Splinter. "Oh uh... Sorry Sensei."

I groaned at Mikey's oblivious nature.

We separated and went off to do our own things. Donnie went back to tinkering with the remains of a mouser while Raph hit the dojo and Mikey finally turned his movie on. I wandered toward the kitchen for a glass of water and for the expected conversation Leo would take up with me. I knew he was going to follow me. I wasn't entirely annoyed with it. I needed to unload but it would have been nice to think it through a little longer.

"So? What's wrong?" My brother asked, leaning his shoulder against the newly applianced fridge. The look he had was devoid of any chance of leaving me alone at the current moment. He would persist until I told him.

"That man. Baxter Stockman. He looks… I feel like I've seen him before?"

"Where could you have seen him before?" He donned a piercingly concerned over me. Those big brother instincts were kicking in.

"I can't really explain it Leo. He just looks like a familiar face."

"Well Donnie knew who he was. Maybe you've just seen him through his science?"

I shrugged, "Maybe." I wasn't too convinced that was the deal though.

My brother studied me for a moment and I was sure he was about to tell me that I was just imagining things, anything that didn't have to do with a worst case scenario. I've been known to have a vivid imagination at times but I couldn't even explain this phenomenon to myself. I've never truly experienced déjà vu before but this grim feeling I felt lurking in the back of mind must have the definition of it. I felt like I'd been in Baxter's presence before. There was a blurry history and I was very afraid of what that was. I had a feeling I already knew and it felt Leo knew too. Neither of us were going to bring up my childhood.

"If something pops into your mind Jade, you can tell me."

I had never shared what happened to me before Splinter found me in the sewer nine years ago. Nobody had ever asked so I had never felt the need to tell, not that I could really remember anyways. Either because I was so young or because my new life had given me something to take my mind of whatever horror I'd gone through. The only reminder was the scarring covering my body like an overdone canvas.

I nodded slowly, "I will Leo."


	4. Chapter 4

Randori was a particular favorite of Master Splinter. A type of japanese free-style where one would defend him or herself against multiple attackers in quick succession without knowing how they will attack or in what order. Usually, Sensei stood in center as my brothers and I would form a circle around him. If we should ever find ourselves outnumbered, we would most likely be surrounded like this, so he said.

And as much as Splinter liked this training, I absolutely hated it. I knew I wasn't the only one. We just had so much more to learn.

"Do not lean with your shoulders, Donatello."

"Faster on your counter attack, Leonardo."

"Mind your footwork, Michelangelo."

"Never turn your back, Jade."

I was on the floor during Raph's attack on Splinter but even just hearing the shuffling across the floor, followed by a frustrated huff. Raph had been just as easily defeated as the rest of us. When I craned my neck upwards, the red-banded turtle was shell up against the wall, pinned by Splinters walking stick.

"You are distracted Raphael. You must learn to focus your attacks." Splinter chided gently before releasing him.

"Ya, I'd like to focus my attacks on that Stockman guy!" Raph picked up one of his sais from off the floor. "Why can't we just go topside and show'em a little mean and green?"

Splinter didn't seem to show any regard of that idea. In fact, he ignored it completely. He simply headed for the dojo doors, "We will resume your training tomorrow."

For a moment, my brothers and I sat in silence. I don't think any of us really understood what was going through our father's head at the moment. No discussions were ever on Stockman for long. Splinter never seemed to want to be on that topic. Sometimes he'd ignore it, as he just did with Raph, or he would pretend he never heard what we had said, or he'd change the topic completely. Nowadays, he spent a majority of his time in meditation. Stockman bothered him. I wish he'd talk to us about it.

Donnie was first to leave the dojo, saying something about heading to the lab, per usual. Mikey second that, except he wanted to go read his comics. Which left Raph, Leo, and I.

Then Raph gave what was obviously a fake yawn, "I'm beat. I'm gonna rack."

I watched as my older brother quickly stood and retreated out of the room. I glanced at the clock above the dojo doors. It only read 7:30. I turned to Leo, "Since when does Raph turn in so early?"

He returned same skeptical look, "Probably to plan out how he's going to disobey orders."

"I figured."

I leaned my shoulder against the wall of the tunnel right outside the lair while Leo stood in his signature lecture stance. Raph was _so_ in for it. What was he thinking anyway? He was gonna take down Stockman Industries all by himself? That was his big plan? What an idiot. We were all frustrated but it didn't mean we went AWOL on each other.

We didn't have to wait too long, maybe ten minutes of patient listening to the sounds of the sewer before the lairs brick door slid open with our ever-so cunning brother standing on the other side.

"Ooo, someone is _bus-tedd._ " I said in an amused sing-a-long voice. Raphael stopped in his tracks, surprised to see his siblings waiting for him.

"Midnight stroll Raph?" Leo asked sarcastically.

"Outta my way Leo."

Leo narrowed his eyes behind his blue mask, "Master Splinter told us to stay here."

Raph put a fistup, taking another dangerous step toward the eldest, "Look. I'll go through ya if I have to."

"I'd like to see you try hothead." Leo taunted irritably.

"Careful what'cha wish for Splinter Junior." Raph snarled in reply before _literally_ diving.

They started wrestling, rolling on the ground like a couple of wild animals. My relaxed position against the brick wall didn't change for a couple of minutes. This wasn't exactly something new in the Hamato household. In fact, it's actually been a couple days since the two turtles had broken out into one of their sissy fights. One was bound to break out sooner or later. A few cuss words were thrown here and there, but after giving the two a few moments to let out their ridiculous anger, I smacked them both on the back of their heads.

"Would you boys knock it off?"

They both rubbed the back of their heads, giving me a short glare before turning back to each other with the same dirty look. Neither had anything to say, not that they had time. The lair door slid open again but this time, a yellow light spotlighted the tunnel. Donnie's mouser was up and roaming. I had step out of the way as it ran between Leo, Raph, and I, paying no mind to us.

"I got one working you guys! Come on! He's faster than he looks!" Donnie cheered excitedly as he and Mikey ran by. I mean, I wasn't just going to let them go by themselves. It _was_ against Splinter's orders to leave the lair but he'd always said we couldn't leave to go topside. We weren't doing that… the loophole was to stay in the sewer.

Raph glanced at Leo with a sarcastic smug growing on his face, "So... Ya gonna let that mouser roam free in the sewer?"

Leo, clearly conflicted, groaned, "Master Splinter is going to kill us." He took off after the youngest turtles with Raph and I at his heels.

The mouser kept a decent speed. It didn't seem to care that my brothers and I were following it. It was apparently on a very important mission and seemed to know exactly where it was going. There was no second thought on the turns it decided to take. Hopefully Donnie or Leo were paying attention cause I wasn't too sure where we were anymore.

"Just curious Don, what's to stop turbo jaws from munching up another 6.2 on the Richter scale?" Mikey asked.

"I shut down its jaw circuits. Now it couldn't even chew through a stick of gum." He grinned gloriously.

As if to challenge that statement, the mouser stopped in its tracks and faced the wall. It's jaws opened as wide as they could and chomped down onto the bricks like it was a wall of butter. In a sort of awe, we all watched as it soon made its own little mouse tunnel in the wall. It was much too small for any of us, even me, to follow it.

That almost seemed so impossible yet here we were, staring in shock at how _easy_ the mouser made that look.

"Woah." I whispered, jaw hanging.

Raph annoyingly eyed Donnie, "You were saying?"

"But I... I was sure I shut it down," He dropped his shoulders and frowned sadly at the thought of his failure. He took the smallest mechanical difficulties very seriously.

Mikey came up and put a hand on Donnie's shoulders, "Aw... Don's finally lost his techno-mojo. Such a shame really."

"Maybe it has some kind of security override routine?" I wasn't as technology knowledgeable as Donnie but hanging around him long enough, I picked up a few things.

At that, his eyes seemed to spark, "Could be! Come on!"

He waved his hand in a gesture for us all to follow. We turned down the next tunnel in a hope we'd catch up. We did. It had chewed its way through the wall and was just on the other far end of the tunnel. The little sucker was fast. I know I'd been thinking earlier that it was pretty speedy but now we were nearly sprinting to keep up with it.

"I might actually be breaking a sweat!" Mikey huffed as we rounded another corner.

"Too much?" Leo smirked, "I guess we'll have to work on your stamina during training from now on."

Mikey was the last of us who ever wanted to train. Extra drills focused on him would be lead to his untimely, dramatic death.

Upon entering a open room filled with sewer water, pipes and more entrances to more tunnels, another mouser appeared. Walking in a different direction as the previous mouser we had been following.

"Woah... Who invited him?" I asked, a bit confused. Were mousers just roaming the sewers now? We'd only seen them in large, clumped groups. It's like they were scouting out the sewer. Perhaps I shouldn't have been too surprised. On the news, Baxter Stockman _did_ say they were made for the city's rat problem. Perhaps the patrolling was what they were supposed to do.

Raph answered my question by pulling a shuriken from _my_ belt, "I got it!" The knife hit the robot dead between its two glowing yellow eyes. However, it didn't die. It didn't even fall over. Instead, it turned in our direction and opened its large metal jaws, letting out an ungodly siren-like noise. Some kind of rallying call. Soon, more mousers showed up from the surrounding tunnel entrances.

"Where did those guys come from?" Mikey asked out loud.

"Doesn't matter now. This batch is a wee bit stronger than the last," I commented, sliding one of my two wakizashis from it's sheath.

"Then maybe we can finally have a decent party for once," Raph ruffed, spinning a sai in his hand.

Once the inevitably began, it seemed the only way to take the mousers down was decapitation. Being that as it was, it was difficult for Donnie and Mikey since they were the ones without a blade to use. In a team effort, I sided with Donnie, we sheppored the mousers together like sheep and with my wakizashi, I sliced through the metal like butter. This took a little longer than the first time we fought these guys but the challenge was still mild and won in no time.

Donnie was pretty geeky about the new technology of the mousers, "These mousers are incredible! The servo mechanics, the circuitry, the articulation!" He yelled excitedly.

Raph kicked the head of a mouser like he'd just punted a football. It hit the very last, living and working mouser, "Geeze Don, why don't'cha just marry one already?"

Donnie almost replied with some kind of sarcastic remark until he saw Raph heading for the last mouser, "We should leave one intact."

Either failing to listen, or choosing to ignore, Raph plunges his sai into the mousers neck and ripped the cords keeping the head and body attached.

Leo sighed, "Well, so much for tracing them back to their source."

"Now what?" Mikey asked.

His question was answered by a high pitched scream and he turned to me suddenly.

"That wasn't me Mikey." I gave a _duh_ look.

Donnie held up his hand and pointed toward the entrance of one of the many tunnels, "Down there!"

The tunnel was a dead end. Except for the mousers down at the end, cornering a lady against the brick wall. My brothers and I wasted no words before destroying the mousers and her wide, terrified eyes darted at the scattered mouser parts that laid in front of her before looking up at us.

"Oh... Oh thank you. Thank you so much. You saved my.. My..." She stammered out. She couldn't see what my brothers looked like. From her perspective, we were just dark silhouettes in the tunnel. We should probably keep it that way.

Leo bent down to whisper in my ear, "I know pronounce you as our team spokesperson." He nudged me forward.

"Awesome." I whispered.

I took a small step forward but was beaten as Mikey put his hands on his knees and grinned a few feet from her face, "Hey! How ya doing?"

The lady took one horrified look at him, then fainted.

I turned around halfway with my arms crossed, "Mikey!"

"Okay... Maybe next time." Leo said, running a hand over his head irritably.

Mikey walked over to her and picked her up, bridal style. He turned around and looked at us with begging eyes, "So.. Can I keep her?"

"No, Mike. We can't keep her." I scoffed. He didn't actually think we would bring a stranger into our home did he?

Donnie tilted his head thoughtfully and I knew he wasn't on my side either, "We need to know why she was being attacked by those things. She could tell us more about them? We should bring her back to the lair."

I saw the logic in this but I wasn't happy with it and I was felt like I was the only one thinking about the fact that we could be putting our family in jeopardy by exposing our existence to her, "I'm pretty sure Splinter told us we were supposed to be avoiding human contact." I looked over at Raph for some support, hoping.

He shrugged, "Man, I dunno Jade. Splinter has always been teaching us to do the right thing and... saving this girl was the right thing."

I threw my arms up in defeat, "All right guys! I hope Splinter grounds all of us. We weren't even supposed to be out of the lair," Splinter was going to flip sideways the way it was.

Donnie took a step forward. His observant eyes hadn't left the girl since we came down this darn tunnel, "I think she's the lady who was on TV with Baxter Stockman, she's his assistant!"

"Sensei is going to hate this." I mumbled, following as my brothers carried the girl back to the safety of our home.


	5. Chapter 5

"... That's about when we heard her scream. A few mousers had her cornered. We saved her and then she fainted when Mikey tried to greet her," Leo explained to our very anxious father.

I was right of of course. Master Splinter wasn't on board with our guest the moment we walked back through the lair doors. Not only had we left the lair despite our father's clear instructions, we may have just compromised ourselves to someone from the outer world. So many things could go wrong. I _told_ them. I was just waiting for us all to get some sort of hardy punishment for our crimes.

Mikey laid her on the couch and stood in front of her with his hands on his hips, waiting for her to wake up.

"Although I am not overwhelming happy with Michelangelo showing himself to Miss O'Neil so freely, perhaps she may be of assistance to our current situation," Splinter glanced at the unconscious woman thoughtfully.

He was taking this better than I thought he would honestly. Now I was kind of annoyed. It wasn't that I wanted to get punished or anything, I just wanted to be the one to tell everyone, _I told you so._

"Maybe she won't freak out if she sees you first," Raph pushed me forward slightly.

 _Right, the teams news spokesperson huh?_ "You guys are standing like, two feet behind me! It's not like she's not going to see you," I casted a glare over my shoulder.

Rpah gave me the kind of look he'd give Mikey, like I had just said something really stupid, "Why can't ya just block her view?"

"I'm not big enough to block your fat head," I said. It earned a sniffling laugh from Donnie and Mikey, a pair of rolling eyes from Leo, a frown from Splinter, and a tightened fist from Raph. My brother took a step forward with his mouth open and a half a syllable already coming out, probably to say something smart back but April's groggy voice cut him off.

"Oh man… What a dream! Turtles fighting robots? Did I fall asleep watching TV again?" She calmly looked at me like I was part of her regular life before moving her gaze to my brothers standing behind me. I knew putting me in front wouldn't make a difference. "That… was.. the… weirdest... thing… I've... ever... seen!"

"Wait, Mikey don't—" Donnie started.

Mikey pushed me out of the way and put his face a foot away from hers, "Hi!"

April screamed, causing Mikey to scream. I put my hands over my ears.

Mikey took a few quick steps back in surprise, "Please don't do that!" He put one of his hands over his plastron and heaved dramatically, "I almost jumped out of my shell."

"Maybe if you'd stop going four inches in front of her eyes she wouldn't scream like that!" I pushed myself to my feet, "And wasn't there a specific reason for me being in front?"

April stared at Mikey's three fingered hand in horror, "It has... Three... Fingers!" She grabbed the pillow on the couch and threw it over her head, closing her eyes and started repeating "I'm asleep" over and over again.

Donnie stared at her in confusion, "This isn't going very well."

Mikey looked back at us, almost pleading, "Hey! Come on! We don't have a lot of practice talking to humans! It's gonna take some time."

" _Excuse_ you," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

Mikey put his hand on his head. "Oh... uh..."

I nudged him back, stepping in front of April and tapping her on the shoulder, "Hey, April. You're not dreaming. Trust me, I've been living with them for eleven years. They're very real."

April looked up from behind the pillow, "How do you know my name?"

"You work with Baxter Stockman. We saw you on the news earlier today."

She looked between me and my brothers at a rapid pace. Her eyes darting back and forth. Master Splinter gently pushed through us and stood before April in the most non-threatening way possible, "Perhaps you are ready to answer some questions Ms. O'Neal."

April immediately fainted at the sight of him.

"Well, you have a way with the ladies Master Splinter," Donnie said. "Now what do we do?"

"Let's nudge her?" Leo suggested.

Raph held up a fist, "I'll snap her out of it."

I grabbed his arm, "Raph, no!"

Mikey wandered away and put on his headset, "Somebody get me when she wakes up." He groaned before clicking play on his MP3 player and let the music blast through the speakers.


	6. Chapter 6

It took about almost a half hour for April to come around again and she still looked a little worried when we all came back to the living room but thankfully, the worst of her terror was over with. Leo had offered to make her tea which she carefully yet, gratefully accepted.

Mikey walked over with a small, warm smile on his face. He was being cautious, careful not to scare her for the third time, "So... You okay now?"

April nodded though she was clearly still a bit weary, "Yes, thanks. This is definitely the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."

Master Splinter kneeled in a recliner chair across from her, "We have something important that we must discuss. We have never revealed ourselves to the upper world. You have placed us all in great danger."

April eyed me sitting on the armrest of the couch. I shrugged, "I'm an exception."

"I'm afraid we find ourselves at your mercy," Master Splinter continued slowly.

April gasped suddenly. I was kind of unsure why she had to make such a sudden noise, "Oh no! I would never tell anyone! I mean... Who would believe me?"

Donnie bobbed his head, "She's got a point."

"Ya! We're un-believe-aBLE," Mikey joked in an almost sing-along voice.

Raph gave him a much needed hit upside the head, "Geeze! Where's your off switch?"

April put her hand over her heart, "Seriously, I promise."

Master Splinter took a moment and stared at her. It was the same look he had held on me when he first found me in the sewer. I would never forget it, "I believe you."

Leo stood over his shoulder curiously, "Is this another lesson Sensei? How to sense the truth!"

"No, this is called trusting your gut," Splinter replied, with a hint of sarcasm that rolled into his voice.

April continued to study my brothers and Master Splinter while giving me a few glances as well. I tried to look as encouraging as I could,"So if I'm keeping your secret, what exactly is it? Who are you people? Uh turtles... Whatever."

Master Splinter began to tell the story I had heard many times over the years. I could almost mouth the same words that escaped off of my father's tongue. He was a ninjutsu artist with his brother Hamato Yoshi way back in the day. In Japan, there were two main groups of ninjas. Hamato Yoshi and Hamato Splinter were a part of Koga Clan. Elite and mobile. They stood for what's good. At first, the other group of ninjas were too. The Foot Clan. Both very different but held the same purpose until the Foot Clan began being led by two men named Oroku Nagi and his brother Oroku Saki. The Foot Clan went sour and began to do the deeds led out by assassins and those of the bad. Disputes between the two ninja clans carried on for decades before a final confrontation between the leaders occurred. To keep it short and sweet, Oroku Nagi killed Hamato Yoshi and Hamato Splinter killed Oroku Nagi. Splinter and Saki fought for hours on end before Saki thought he had defeated Splinter. What Saki didn't do, was check to make sure he finished the job. Splinter barely held on and lived to see another day. Saki may not even know if Splinter is alive to this day.

Years later, Splinter sailed to America and ended up in New York. He had a job and even held the love for a woman who, coincidentally, also traveled from Japan. Tang Shen. They were engaged when Tang Shen's ex-boyfriend-man found out about her love with Splinter. There was a night of absolute terror when Tang Shen was murdered by her ex. Splinter was forced to hide and he choose the sewer. Down there, he spent the night and woke up the next morning with a rat on his chest. It was the last animal he touched before coming across four turtle submerged in a slimy green substance oozing from a nearby canister. That exact substance turned him into what he is today. And it turned my brothers into what they are as well.

When the tale had been completed, each of my brothers gave their names.

Leo stood up and gave her a slight bow, "I'm Leonardo."

"Donatello."

"I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey!"

"I'm Raphael."

Mikey laughed. "All the good ones end in 'O'!"

Donnie and I snickered as Raph slapped the orange banded turtle across the back of his head again.

April nodded her head to me, giving me another slightly suspicious look, "Then who are you?"

I gave her a weak smile, "I'm Jade. I'm kind of their..."

"Adopted sister," Mikey finished for me, giving me a lopsided grin. I nodded.

April tipped her head in confusion, "How is that possible?"

Everyone turned their eyes on me, "I've been with them for eleven years and they don't even know the story yet," I glanced up at my brothers, who all nodded their heads for me to continue. They deserved to know. Unfortunately, so did I, "I wish I knew too."

"What do you mean?" April asked, showing the same puzzled face as the rest of my family.

"I mean..." I inhaled, "I can't remember. All I know is that I was taken when I was really young. I don't remember my family before but I was there for a long time. A really long time. And then I escaped and I hid in the sewers. I got lost and I probably would have stayed lost if Splinter hadn't wandered across me," There was a lingering silence that followed. No one seemed to know how to reply to that. It was almost like I could physically feel everyone's thoughts in the air. I wouldn't expect great deals of hugs and words of wisdom but the silence wasn't real helpful. I tapped my foot impatiently, "Soo…"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Leo asked.

I shrugged, "What was there to tell? I didn't even have a name until Splinter found me. You guys took me in and that was the end of it. You guys never asked me where I came from, you just accepted me. I never really had to think about it. Besides, it was a long time ago. Does it really matter anymore?"

"It matters Jade. Whoever kept you for so long didn't leave you unmarked," Leo said.

"Okay, well. Those scars came from a long time ago too so like I said, does it really matter anymore?" I didn't like this topic. My attitude was dropping at a rapid. I tried to make that painfully clear by the glare I put on my oldest brother. Somhow, I knew he wasn't going to let it slide. Not this time.

"What about Baxter Stockman?" The sound of his name rolling off Leo's tongue made me cringe.

That raised a few flags throughout the room. Donnie asked first,"What about him?"

"When we saw him on the news, I could swear I'd seen him before," I explained though I wasn't happy his name was brought up, "If he had something do with my... Whatever it was, then maybe I'm not crazy."

Another short silence followed as everyone was lost in their thoughts. Even April seemed to have her thinker on. Thankfully, it didn't last too long as Mikey bumped the remote and turned the TV on. The news channel was still on but this time, was reporting a bank robbery.

" _... And the police are completely baffled by tonight's bank robbery that was boldly executed in broad daylight. If anyone has any information, the police urge you to call the crimestoppers hotline."_

The screen then switched to a view of the inside of the fault. A massive hole in the middle of the room was the center of attention but all the dust and fumes from the broken flooring had set some very familiar footprints. Mouser footprints. April squinted at the screen, "So this must be what I heard Doctor Stockman talking about. He's got the mousers robbing banks!"

Well, would you speak of the devil then. I sat down on the couch with my chin resting on my hands, lost in thought. Why did this guy have to come back into my life? Raph flopped down next to me seeming concerned with my glum mood now, "So whatta ya know 'bout this Stockman guy?" He asked April.

"He's a genius but absolutely insane. I started getting suspicious about the tests we were running. The mousers have a signal that runs back to the lab when we let them loose. Some of the mousers on the last test run were streaming back as unoperational. I found it odd but Stockman didn't seem to care. I thought that maybe it was some kind of glitch in the system but when I started rummaging through Stockman's computer, he turned the mousers on me! Luckily, I ran into you guys."

I looked up, "He destroyed our old home."

April put her hands on her hips, "Must have been one of mouser test runs."

Raph suddenly got to his feet. He turned to Splinter determinedly,"Then whatta we waitin' for? I say we shut down mouser central. Permanently."

"It won't be easy. Stocktronics is rigged with latest up-to-date security tech," April remarked, putting a finger to her chin in a thinking gesture.

Mikey slapped Donnie on the shell, "Ha! Bring it on! Allow me to introduce our very own secret weapon! The techno-turtle himself… Donatello! Take a bow Don!"

Donnie pushed him away gently, pretending to blush slightly. He chuckled, "Aw, cut it out."

Master Splinter gave us his blessing to leave the lair after a few long moments. I was surprised with his decision. This would be our first time truly leaving the lair together as a team for a mission that wasn't anything to do with finding functional home furniture. This was our first time going to the surface using our training. It had to be hard for our father, letting us go like this but the world up top wasn't going to wait for us anymore, "Be careful, my children."

I noted how he looked to me as he said that.


	7. Chapter 7

Just as April had said, Stocktronics was up to date with some nice and lengthy security systems. How could they not? They were a big techy-kind of building. There were even little blinking sensors in the surrounding sewer tunnels. While I was a little educated in industrial science kind of stuff, this wiring was far more complicated and I couldn't comprehend much of it. Donnie and April were the big brains on this mission. A little system hacking and circuitry cutting and we were well into Stocktronics through the ventilation system of the building. Eventually, we ended up in a hallway with a door across from us labeled as _Lab A._

Raph took a look around, "So this is the place?"

April nodded, pointing at the 'Lab A' door, "There's a computer terminal in that lab. Get me in and I can create blank spots in the security system to get you through to Doctor Stockmans main lab."

Raph looked over his shoulder at Mikey, "Don't look now, but we already gotta blank spot right here."

"Hey," Mikey glared at him.

The 'Lab A' door was locked. Leo snapped his fingers at me, "You're up."

I was the only one of the five of us who could pick a lock. It made me feel pretty special and it was so lucky that I just happened to have a nice set of tools in a small pocket on my belt, "Open sesame," I whispered.

Lab A was dark inside but lined with different sized computers hooked to large monitors on the wall. April raced over to a desk at the back of the room, sat down on the cushion chair and began typing at lightning speed. She was good. Like, scary good. Donnie looked thoroughly impressed. She turned her head over her shoulder to look back at us standing behind her.

"Okay, I'm in. I'm blanking the cameras along that corridor at 10 second intervals," She turned back to the screen, "So you've got to keep moving."

We all began silently moving toward the door, "We'll be right back."

I don't think she had heard us leave because I thought I heard her say something but I didn't quite catch it. We sprinted down the corridor, finding ourselves at a pair of large-scale automatic doors. Approaching them, they slid open by themselves, revealing another dark and silent room.

"This place is too quiet," Leo whispered. He was right. It was the middle of the day, sholdn't there be some operation going on?

"Uh, guys? My turtle sense is tingling," Mikey said nervously.

The doors behind us closed rapidly and clicked, a sure sign we were locked in. Bright, blinding lights turned on and a booming voice started speaking over an intercom. Baxter Stockman was in an observation room on the other side of the lab, glaring at a screen in front of him.

"Intruders? Here to steal my secrets? You'll leave here with nothing, not even your lives," He paused, squinting at the screen. "What on earth are you?... No matter, I suppose I'll just have to dissect you to find out."

He pressed one of the buttons in front him. Big machines that hung from the ceiling turned on and aimed their barrels at us.

"Take cover!" Leo yelled.

It was just like April had said. Keep moving. I took cover behind a cement pillar after successfully avoiding getting hit by the massive bullets that were being fired from all directions.

"Think Baxter is a little paranoid?" Donnie asked me, standing behind another pillar directly across from me.

I peeked around the pillar and immediately became bombarded with bullets. I felt the whiff of one stray get shot close to my hand, a little too close for comfort, "A _little_?" I shook my hand slightly to try and rid myself of the heat that came from the bullet traveling so close to my skin. It was almost a burning sensation but hardly physical.

"Jade, stop," Donnie muttered. I almost didn't hear him. His eyes were fixed, squinting at the machine above. I didn't understand, "Stop moving."

I did though I was only shaking my hand. I looked up behind the pillar to see that we were no longer taking fire. Smoke steamed out from the machine. I could see small sparks, like it was starting to shut down.

My brother moved to my pillar, taking shelter beside me, "Move your hand again."

"I don't understan—"

"Just," He interrupted quickly, "Just humor me."

I did, watching this time. It could only be coincidental that the second I shook my hand, the machine spurted and twisted. There was more smoke and more sparks. I stopped and so did the machine. It ceased everything. This time, I moved my hand more abruptly. The machine exploded.

 _Whoa._

I met eyes with Donatello. His jaw was dropped slightly, "That…"

"Wasn't me," I shrugged, pretending like that little phenomen didn't just happen, "That _definitely_ wasn't me."

"Right…"

Now, without the current threat of a big ol' machine gun blazing bullets on me, I was finally given the opportunity to make my way toward Michelangelo, who was shell up against the wall just beneath the observation room.

"Any way up?" I asked, craning my neck upwards.

"Slingshot?" He suggested and I nodded. Better than nothing. HE cupped his hands together and hoisted me up. Well, more like threw me up. I flew high enough to reach the ledge and pull myself up in front of the glass. Stockman, was just on the side of the glass looked shocked to see me so suddenly. He backed away, almost tripping over himself as I used the handle of one of my wakizashis to break the glass.

"How did you…?" Stockman started, scrambling to his feet. I was assuming he was talking about getting past his artillery but this time, I took a page out of Mikey's book.

"Your guess is about as good as mine," I shrugged, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the broken window, "I was half expecting it to be made of bullet-proof glass or something. Now, turn them off."

He didn't move. He only stared at me with incredibly wide eyes. I was sure he didn't hear me. This time, I used my wakizashi and once the blade was held an inch between his eyes, his trance seemed to break. Slowly, he sidestepped toward the panel at the head of the room. There were dozens on dozens of buttons and smaller screens across the entirety of it, "It better be the right button."

"Worried I'll try something else?" Stockman dared to ask. _Duh._

"Kind of," I swished my blade just enough for him to see the movement, "If you do, I'll take the finger that did it. You got nine more to try again," The threat was kind of absurd and more something that Raph would pull but I was in no mood for games. Not from this guy. I hated being in his presence more than just seeing him on TV.

Stockman didn't seem to call my bluff, which was good for me. He waited a moment longer before pushing down on a single silver button. The rumbling of gunfire ceased outside the room and I flicked my wakizashi to the side, indicating for him to move away from the control panel. He watched me closely as he moved along, still examining me from behind his glasses like some foreign specimen.

Then he finally had the audacity to speak, "What's a little girl like you doing in a place like this? Aren't you a little young to try and stop the ingenious plans of a mastermind?"

I definitely wasn't a little girl and I didn't like his tone. His back hit the wall and I stepped forward, putting the tip of my sword just below his chin, tipping his head up just enough so he could feel how cold the metal was. I had to admit… I felt like _such_ a badass,"What's a man like you doing with toys like these? They're definitely not built to clean up the city's _rat problem._ "

Still, with his brows furrowed, he stared. It was really starting to piss me off. But the more I returned his stare, the more I noticed the little lining inbetween. His jaw was locked and his eyelids twitched. He was looking at me though I was some ghost. Like he was having some déjà vu moment, "It can't be. Aubrey?"

I didn't know why there was a sudden rage. I didn't recognize the name but perhaps I should have. Maybe it was the adrenaline or maybe it was the idea that if he recognized me, then maybe I wasn't so crazy after all. Seeing him on the news and thinking I'd seen his face before? The fear of remembering something from my past was behind a crumbling wall and I didn't want it collapse. Not now, not ever. I sheathed my wakizashi and took two fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him forward and slamming his back toward the control panel. He was clearly surprised. I was stronger than I looked

"It's Jade," I growled. Before he could say anything to that, my brothers started climbing through the broken window one by one. I threw Stockman to the floor. At least his ugly eyes were plastered on someone else for a second.

"What are you things?" Stockman gasped at them, getting to his feet quickly.

Well, alright then. I didn't like his eyes on me but I really didn't like my brothers being immediately classified as "things."

April appeared out of an elevator at the back of the room, "They're with me."

Stockman eyes snapped at the sight of her, "April… you-you're alive!" He exclaimed nervously.

"And kicking. I've got enough evidence to put you away for years Doctor Stockman," She pointed at him accusingly.

Baxter stumbled back, looking from his previous assistant to my brothers and I. He knew a losing battle when he saw one, which was smart onb his part. He inched towards the elevator, hitting a button on the wall that apparently we all failed to see. Buzzers and alarms immediately started to sound around the lab. Red lights flashed within the observation room. That couldn't have been good

"Well I've recalled the mouser hoard from their latest mission! They'll be here any second. They'll tear you to pieces," Stockman said, smirking to himself in some effort to redeem a higher ground.

There was a chorus of metal clanging against the cement floor. Down in the lab, dozens upon dozens of mouser robots marched toward the observation room. They didn't skip a beat in walking up the walls. Eat through brick and cement, walk up walls, what else could these guys do?

"April…" Leo started.

She roughly pushed Stockman aside, racing over to the control panel, typing rapidly, "I'll have to shut the whole system down."

Donnie quickly followed her lead, "I'll help you."

Behind us, Stockman laughed, "You're doomed," He grinned evilly. Now, he was headed for the elevator and already half way inside before anyone could take a step toward him. He looked to me, now glaring darkly, "I know _exactly_ who you are, _Jade,_ " The way he said my name was pure hatred, "You will be _his_."

I started for him but he backed up into the elevator completely, the doors shutting quickly and just in time for my body to slam against it. I'd barely missed him. My fists balled and hit the doors violently and I only stopped when Raph took me by the shoulders and and pulled me away, "Let him go, we got bigger problems."

I hadn't even noticed that the mousers had now started to surround us in the room. Raph and I backed up to the desk where April and Donnie were still trying to shut them down. The elevator opened with more mousers piled inside. None of them outrightly attacked us but all jaws were partly opened, waiting for the right moment to strike. The control room was small for such a large building. There wasn't enough room for us to counter the attack cleanly. Injuries were inevitable and possibly a worse outcome with how many there were. No floor could be seen in the main lab. There were hundreds of these things. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

"How's it coming guys?" Leo asked with a worried tone. If Leo was worried, we were screwed.

"It's not working!" April yelled.

"Well... it's been fun guys," Raph grunted. We'd run out of space to back up. We'd completely run out of space anywhere.

"I thought this was the part where we somehow miraculously live," Mikey cried nervously, "That's what happens in the movies!"

"Miraculously? That's a big word, Mikey," Raph gave back, still finding a moment to tease his little brother.

"Hey..."

All of sudden, the mousers stopped in their tracks and froze like the video game had been paused. Their yellow eyes started to blink.

"Mikey. I think you spoke too soon," I sighed in relief, returning the high five Leo gave me.

Mikey picked one of the mousers up by the neck and threw it across the room, "Losers!"

April turned around. She wasn't celebrating, "Uh guys, I wasn't able to shut them down. The only way I was able to stop them was to initiate a override sequence."

Mikey's grin turned terrified, "So in other words..."

The mousers around us began to steam. Like smoke billowed from each and every one of them and their eyes went from the flashing yellow to a dark red. In unison, a chorus of blaring sirens rang from every individual. _That_ didn't sound good.

"Let's get out of here!" Donnie yelled, swooping April into his arms and heading for the broken window.

We jumped back to the lower level. The army of mousers were hard to really avoid but we somehow managed to book out of the lab and down the hallway before they began detonating behind us. Making it out of the building was easy. Same way we broke in but I couldn't help think of what Baxter Stockman said.

 _He will be yours._

What the hell did that mean? Who was _he?_ More importantly, did Stockman really know who I was? I knew I'd seen him before but if he was really from my past, why couldn't I remember how he fit in? The thoughts repeated over and over in my head all the way home like a record that was stuck on repeat. It was a thudding beat and it made me feel sick to the core.


	8. Chapter 8

After returning back to the lair safety, we promised April we would escort her back to her lair when it got a little darker outside. Just for safekeeping.

Master Splinter immediately wanted to be informed of how the infiltration went, of course and we did lined up, kneeling before him in his chamber as we usually did. It was a comforting area and we normally used it for meditation though it's also an area we use to share concerns and talk as a family over certain matters. Candles flooded the circumference of the room. They were always the only source of light in here with the exception of a vintage lamp Splinter had brought over from Japan once upon a time. At all times, it was on and though Splinter never specifically said why, I had a feeling it was his idea of preserving his dearest Tang Shen's memory. He commented one time that the cherry blossoms on it reminded him of her.

"... He just said that I would be " _his._ " I described, using my fingers to quote. I took a deep inhale after my small speaking session of Baxter Stockman and I's exchange. I could feel my stomach turning just talking about it. When I finished, I inhaled. The heavy musk of incense was always calming and perhaps another reason why Splinter always had sticks of it burning. A deep fragrance of ginger, Japanese orchids, and Sakura, which Splinter says is his favorite tree. White blossoms that bloom in the spring.

"Who the hell is _he?_ " Raph asked beside me in the usual snarky attitude.

I turned to him,"Well, gee Raph. Don't you think if I knew I would tell you?"

He paused, then narrowed his stare on me,"I find it hard to believe that you can't remember nothin'."

"I was five years old! Do _you_ remember everything when you were that age?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe not everythin' but I'd sure as hell remember a thing'r two about bein' kidnapped by some nutcase."

"You know," Donnie added to the conversation lightly, "That _could_ be a type of amnesia, her memory repressing the traumatic experiences of her childhood. That would explain why she can't—"

"Thanks, Doc," Raph interrupted, rolling his eyes.

Donnie had a point. I mean, not that I wanted to side with having some missing memories due to grim and daunting experiences long ago but as long as it wasn't Raph's side of the argument. I raised my chin a little, "There you go."

"Jade!" Leo's voice was a warning. For what?

Raph snickered and I turned to him again, this time the back of my hand reaching to hit his arm. After I made contact, his joyous smirk left and he raised a fist.

"Jūbun'na," Splinter stopped us, borderline irritated. This wasn't the place to start a fight and definitely not my smartest idea to start one in front of our father but Raph was such a… he was a dick. Let's be real. He deserved that hit.

Splinter stroked his long beard thoughtfully. He kneeled before the low table in front of us and opened the small chest that sat on top of it. A little rearranging and he pulled out a small piece of black cloth, "Jade, have you seen this symbol before?" He asked, handing the cloth to me.

It was old, fading in color and tattered. I could see that it had been ripped along the edges. When I unfolded it, there was a single red symbol printed. Three spikes atop a semicircle. I felt butterflies eat away at my stomach but I didn't understand why. I must have tensed up significantly. Leo tapped my arm, "What is it?"

"Yes. I do Sensei. I've seen this before. Though... I have no idea from where. I… I can't remember."

"I've seen that before!" April exclaimed, "It was on Stockman's computer!"

"What does it mean, Sensei?" I handed him the cloth back. My fingers shook.

Master Splinter rubbed the cloth between his fingers, "You all know the story of Oroku Saki and my master, Hamato Yoshi, hai?"

 _Like a million times._

"Duh," Mikey said sarcastically, earning a slap in the back of the head by Leo.

"This is the symbol Oroku Saki began to use after his brother's death. It became the symbol of the Foot Clan. It's his representation. I have been meditating deeply on recent events. From the destruction our old home to today's infiltration. I believe that Oroku Saki is somehow involved in your past, just as you discovered that Stockman may also be a contributor," Master Splinter put the cloth back in the chest. "What they want with you, I can't tell. I'm afraid we may be finding out sooner rather than later."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me so I avoided them by staring at the ground.

Leo cleared his throat, "Let's bring April home, you guys."

* * *

 ** _Jūbun'na_ \- Enough**

 ** _Hai_ \- Yes**

 **If anyone is fluent or even somewhat familiar with Japanese and notice that I've gotten something wrong with translations, I'd be grateful for the correction. Google Translate is helpful but not always accurate lmao**


	9. Chapter 9

Leo must have been having a private lesson with Splinter because I could hear Raph and Mikey sparring in the living room. It was unusual, Mikey actually practicing outside of our required training session with Sensei in the morning but it wasn't unheard of. Raph must have been itching to use his beloved punching bag which was unfortunately in the dojo where the current private session was being held. Mikey was his last option as Donnie was working on something in his lab and I pretending to help him. Not that couldn't use the extra training, it was just that Raph wasn't my favorite sparring partner. Don't get me wrong, I loved Raphael to my dying days but… Jesus, he was difficult to work with. I was surprised that Mikey complied. Perhaps after being cooped in the lair for a few days, he was getting just as antsy as the red-banded turtle was.

As usual, Mikey was teasing Raph. I knew it was a part of Mikey's nature but the worst time to tick off our older brother was during a sparring session and I by the yelling and minor crashes, I could tell Raph was really not having it today with the jokes. After one particularly loud crash, Donnie and I were forced to escape the sanctuary of the lab to investigate. Maybe it was just a bad phase but Raph's temper had spike to an incomprehensible level since we infiltrate Stocktronics. I mean, he's always had a bad temper but now even the smallest thing set him off. Mikey's teasing wasn't helping.

"Nice fall Raphael! Just come on back when you want some more of that!" Mikey rubbed his knuckles over his plastron as if polishing them.

Raph climbed himself out of a large pile of cardboard boxes that I had stacked neatly against the wall for the time being. I was irritated that they were crushed and bent now, "You're so gonna get it Mikey!"

Their match continued. I sat on the stairs while Donnie leaned against the banister, "Mikey?" He asked, hinting a bet. I instantly shok my head.

"Raph."

He opened his mouth to object my decision but closed it, shrugging, "Your loss."

I mimicked his shrug, " _Your_ loss. A chore for the wager?"

He nodded, "Deal."

I would never pick who was the most skilled fighter within our family. We all had our strengths and weaknesses. When frustrations were at an all time high, Raph tended to get sloppy and Mikey would take advantage of that. However, I chose Raph just in a sense that in his anger, he turned into this superhuman with more strength than all of us combined. It was actually incredible to see all the adrenaline he could possibly possess get used in a single smackdown. While it looked like Mikey was in the lead, he was starting to get a little cocky, like, Leo cocky. His goofball jokes could only be an ally to him for so long.

"Nice reverse punch," Mikey dodged the swing, "Nice roundhouse kick too. Not too bad. Not too bad. Just a _little_ too slow."

Leo and Splinter emerged from the dojo and shared an annoyed look with Donnie and I across the room.

Raph threw a closed fist at Mikey's face which was easily deflected. I didn't care for the small smack talk but the slap on the back of the head was definitely a bad move on my Mikey's part, "Actually, you're much too slow!"

Donnie squeezed down a laugh, "Still thinking Raph?"

I actually wasn't sure anymore but I wasn't going to let down the bet, "Uh… Yep."

Raph turned, eyes blazing, "You think you're better than me? Do ya?" He yelled.

The next attack, Mikey shifted. His shoulders swung to the side and his foot connected to Raph's plastron. The red banded turtle was sent into a wooden table piled with metal pipes and scrap metal just beside the door to Donnie's lab. Not only were the items scattered but the table broke as well. Alright, this fight was starting to get a little out of hand. Donnie fumed at Mikey, "You owe me a table!"

Mikey waved at Donnie dismissively, ignoring his comment and answering Raph's question, "No dude, you're just too cranky right now!"

I face palmed. It would have been better to say nothing.

Mikey spun around in a tight circle, his fists in the air and a wide grin on his face, "Winner and champion! Michelangelo!"

What happened next was difficult to comprehend for a moment because it all happened so quickly. First, Raph was muttering to himself in the pile of wood and metal and then Mikey was on the ground, wailing as Raph held a metal pipe over his head, ready to bash in the youngest turtle's skull in.

"Raph! I was just kidding!... Wait! Raph!"

Fire was all there was to the red banded turtle's eyes. A type of anger that wasn't natural, even for someone as temperamental as him

"Teishi Raphael!" I heard Master Splinter panicked yell.

I stood, grabbing Donnie's arm in a sudden fear just as Leo ran forward a took Raph by the arm, stopping him from taking any blows, "Raphael! Have you lost your mind?" He bellowed.

Donnie pulled away from me and moved forward to help Mikey to his feet.

Raph furrowed his brow. His popped veins vanished and he appeared to be completely clueless. It was almost a heartbreaking sight but I couldn't help but think about the state of fury he'd just been in. It was terrifying. It was the kind of anger that would have you fearing for your own life. Having a feeling like that within your own home was something I never thought I would have to worry about.

"Mikey... I... Leo..." He stammered, barely able to speak over his heaves.

Master Splinter walked up and put a paw on Raph's shoulder, "Ah my son, so angry. You must learn to control it."

Leo let his brother's arm go and Raphael got to his feet in a very muddled manner. His flashed in my direction. He set his eyes on his little sister and I could tell that my reaction scared him as much as it scared me. He could see how frightened I had just been. Hurt fell across his face along with every emotion that shaded with a burning ire, "I… I need to get some air."

I watched him sprint past me and up the stairs, through the lair entrance. My heart lurched and I wanted to follow him and try to tell him everything would be okay but how could I say something like that to him when I wasn't sure if I could believe it for myself? Besides, he'd need some time to cool off anyway.

"Mikey, are you okay?" Donnie asked Mikey softly.

"Uh... Ya I guess. What a hothead."

The brother then punched Mikey in the arm. His smooth voice gone suddenly and replaced with heavy exasperation, "Well you should know better than to tease him with that temper he has."

Mikey shrugged, clearly not in the mood for any kind of sarcasm to follow the discussion and headed for the living room. Master Splinter shook his head slowly and shuffled back to his room, surely off to meditate over the situation. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. Leo stood beside me with a tilted head.

"You okay?"

I frowned, "It's getting worse."

"I know," He sighed, "We have to be more careful."

I felt a ping in my stomach, "It shouldn't be like this. We shouldn't have to think about him doing anything to us. Right?"

"We shouldn't but there's not much we can do to stop it. It will die down in time but for now I think we have to deal with it. It's just a bad phase," He said firmly although I wasn't sure if he really thought so himself.

"I hope so," I mumbled.

Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and I were watching a movie in the living hours later when Rpah finally came home. While the incident earlier surely hasn't left his mind, Mikey was the first to greet him. He acted as though nothing had ever happened, "Hey! I'd say welcome home but you looked like you got the shell kicked out of you. You alright?"

Mikey was right. I was a bit alarmed to see some dark bruises and welt formed in a few areas on Raph's limbs, "What happened?" I asked.

He shrugged, "It'sa long story but first I wanted ta apologize… Things gotta a little out of control earlier."

I shared a look with Donnie, being he was closest to me. Raph was… _apologizing._ Raph doesn't apologize, not for anything. He'd never put that word in his vocabulary even if it meant life or death. He could never find the right words to do such a thing so his apologies were lined in some kind of derisive sentence that only he would pass an apologetic motion.

Mikey scratched his head, clearly weirded out as much as the rest of us, "Uh… Don't sweat it bro."

Leo crossed his arms, "Alright. Who are you and what have you done with Raphael?"

Raph chuckled, sliding a hand behind his neck, "Let's just say I've had a chance ta think about the way I've been actin'."

"How so?" I asked, "What happened up top?"

"Well, I ran into this other hothead, Casey…"


	10. Chapter 10

We patrolled nightly, like it was our job. I mean, Splinter trained us for this, to go out in the city and fight the crime but we always left just as the sun had begun to set. While there were many moments I loved to spend with my brothers, this was perhaps my favorite. The blinding ball of yellow slowly melted into hues of pink and orange, painting the sky. It was different every time. The colors were never quite the same as they were the day before, and when the sun fell behind New York's skyline, _that_ was my favorite part. For a few minutes, our city was beautiful and untainted. It was a sight I wished would would never fade. Though, eventually the sky lost the bright colors and faded into obsidian. When the first stars twinkled, it was our time to start our nightly shift.

We've been doing this now for near three months and every night was a new battle, of course, but our hands seemed to be full with the same two groups. Majority of the time, we dealt with mass quantities of Purple Dragon thugs. I never thought a gang like them could have so many members. They were they're our society of drug lords, black market dealers, and insanely homicidal figures. While our lives were now more exciting than they were stuck in the lair for all eternity, there were nights that made us want to quit and we'd only just began our life up top. Defeat was something none of us would take too lightly and it wasn't necessarily a defeat on us ourselves, but with so much crime, it was impossible to reach every call for help. New York was simply too big and the nights were too short. We'd already seen more pain and death than we could imagine. It all came with the job.

The Foot Clan was another matter. Trained and skillful, they weren't as easy to catch as the Purple Dragons were. Sometimes we'd see them from a distance and find it useless to follow. They were one with the shadows, just as we were trained to be. As Mikey rightfully mentioned every time we lost sighting of the Foot we were tracking, "It's awesome _being_ the ninja, but not so awesome fighting the ninja." While the Purple Dragons did usual gang-like activites, the Foot… did other things. I wasn't sure what they were up to half the time we crossed blades with them. For instance, there was one particular night where half of the city blacked out. In a short summary, some asshole put an entire suit of armor at the bottom of the East River and instead of being decent human beings and just simply putting on a diving suit and searching for it that way, the Foot used some enormous machine to basically part the Red Sea on the river and find the suit that way. That damn machine needed so much power that it took the electricity right out from under New York. What was odd about the entire situation was that the machine wasn't plugged into an outlier or anything, it's on-switch was a sword. The Foot retrieved their suit of water ridden armor but my brothers and I got our hands on the sword.

Master Splinter was terrified of the sword. He told us that it was called the Sword of Tengu. The blade was a potent and powerful mix of science of sorcery and while everyone needed some kind of protection to even hold the sword by the hilt, I could grip it with my bare hands and feel nothing out of the ordinary. It was hard to comprehend. First, I had some weird technical powers that made themselves very potent when we'd broken into Baxters Lab and now we had some magical Japanese sword that didn't affect me like it did with the rest of my family. The more weird that I was introduced to, the more my general idea of reality was distorted.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ya know what I like best about weapons practice? The weapons," Raph grinned as he came down on me with his sais. I blocked the blow with a wakizashi, making a face.

"I could have never figured that one out."

Behind us, Mikey was in a clash with Donnie though of course, he couldn't resist not being part of the conversation, "Too bad you're stuck with those lame toothpicks and not a real weapon like the nunchucks!"

And while Mikey was busy integrating himself with more he could handle, Donnie managed to sweep him out from under his feet with his bo, "Sorry Mikey, but the bo staff is where it's at."

"Boys and girl, put away the toys!" Leo, seemingly coming out of thin air, flipped over Raphael and I, "Double katana is the only way to play!"

Leonardo was talented. I didn't like choosing who was best, but Leonardo was bred for this, to be a ninja. Although, as the most dedicated student, it was hard for him to not be a tad more skillful than the rest of us. I didn't know about my other brothers but once I was kicked in the stomach, I was done for the afternoon. I could hear everyone else and I knew no one would be coming out on top except for the eldest. Not that it was a shock or anything, at this point it was almost old news.

When it was all said and done, Leonardo grinned triumphantly and waved his swords in front of his face, probably admiring his egotistical reflection on the blades, "What did I tell ya? Double katana? Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Nice one, Leo," Donnie muttered, adding an annoyed tone as he emphasized Leo's name.

Splinter held on a curious look on his eldest son. There was something, but I wasn't sure what it was. Clearly, he was proud and perhaps impressed, but there was something else. He called for all of us to kneel, "Well done, Leonardo. You have won, but do you know why?"

Leo, still holding his katanas in his hands, held them up once again, "Well, I do _have_ the superior weapons. I read where swordmaster Usashi said that the katana blade holds the soul of steel and is the truest guide to the warriors way... Which is kinda how I feel."

Oh, Jesus help us now. I mean, Leo has always been a little prideful of himself but since we'd started patrol, his ego has blossomed into something unimaginable. He was no team player when it came to sportsmanship.

"Many things are said but few are true," Master Splinter said holding up a finger. The look I couldn't figure out was crystal now, he was about to rat Leo out and we _all_ knew it.

Raph smirked, "Master Splinter's got that look."

Donnie chuckled beside me, "I think someone's gonna get it."

Mikey bursted out laughing.

"Michelangelo! Do you think I am funny?" Master Splinter asked, raising an eyebrow.

Clearly he wasn't joking but Mikey, as usual, didn't get the hint to shut his mouth, "Um… Ya. I mean, sometimes?"

 _Facepalm._

"There was that time you told us that joke about the ox and the sparrow… It wasn't really a joke but it was funny and…" I elbowed him in the plastron, "I mean… No Master Splinter…"

Splinter sighed irritably and turned his attention back to the eldest, "Leonardo, stand and attack me with your katana."

Leo stood but stepped back, bewildered by the command, "Master Splinter… I…"

"Do it! Now!"

Leo swung his katana, bringing it down toward our fathers skull. I flinched but Splinter didn't even draw back from the attack. Instead, he caught the metal between his palms.

"Dang," I murmured in awe. My father never ceased to surprise me.

"Is this the great and glorious weapon you speak of? Helpless before a rat such as myself? In the hands of a true ninjutsu master, anything can be used as a deadly weapon. Remember, a weapon is only as good as the arm that wields it. Until you have learned this lesson, you have learned nothing," Master Splinter released the sword with a mildly disappointed look before backtracking to his room. He didn't even tell us we were dismissed. Maybe he hadn't been impressed with Leonardo's performance today. Maybe he was disappointed?

Leo said nothing. He was stuck in a state of shock for a moment before he roughly slid his katana a back in their sheaths and stormed up the stairs and out the lair door, avoiding eye contact with all of us.

"That was entertaining," Raph said after another silent moment, grinning widely.

"Do you think what Splinter said was really necessary? He was kind of harsh," I bit my lip. Leo kind of deserved it, but damn, I _hated_ seeing him so lost and upset.

Raph and Mikey threw me a look that would make the answer to that completely obvious but Donnie shrugged his shoulders with a short sigh, "Maybe. But right now, Leo is a little too cocky for his own good. Some criticism wouldn't hurt."

I frowned. Donnie gave me his best attempt at a sympathetic smile before ruffling my hair and getting to his feet. I followed, figuring that jetting after Leo wasn't the smartest idea right now so instead, I plopped myself on the couch.

Mikey wandered toward the kitchen, "Let's order some pizza."

"Okay," A monotone reply from all of us.

I flipped through the channels on the TV, finding myself bored with everything that was on. Mikey's voice was more entertaining in the kitchen.

"I want a large, thick crust with double cheese, ham, pepperoni, sausage and chicken."

 _Pause_.

I raised my voice so he could hear me, "No anchovies."

"Oh and no anchovies. And I mean _no_ anchovies. You put anchovies on this thing and you're in big trouble, okay?"

 _Pause._

"That will do. The clock's ticking dude."

Whilst clicking through the stations, a special news report was on about some new vigilante that had been popping up around New York the last couple months. A man in a red and blue suit going by the name _Spider-man._

Raph rolled his eyes, "This guy again?"

We'd never actually seen Spider-man before. He was usually spotted in Queens and my brothers and I didn't really leave the Manhattan area when we were on patrol. New York was a big place, there was only so much we could cover in one night.

"Woah!" Miley exclaimed, hands pressed to his cheeks, "Spider-man! He is so cool!"

Any superhero had Mikey geeked out, at least in fiction. He had practically a comic book for any superhero in existence. Spider-man was making headlines since he was the first dubbed "superhero" in existence. He took out a Lonnie Lincoln, more known to the public as Tombstone, a huge bulky albino looking dude with defiled teeth and a naughty reputation as a notions crime boss affiliated with drug lords and illegal weapon dealing. I didn't know much about him until Spider-man started getting on the news. There were loads of bad guys in New York, it was impossible for my brothers and I to take them all out, especially out in Queens.

"What's with the costume though?" I asked, "Why couldn't he just wear a mask to cover his face if he didn't want his identity revealed?"

"It looks so cool! You should have a suit, Jade!" Mikey turned to me excitedly, "We all could!"

"What I want to know is what kind of material that webbing is," Donnie rubbed his hands together thoughtfully, watching the TV contently. Spider-man swung from building to building using some kind of web-like material, just as a spider would. He used it for transportation and combat. The stuff was pretty strong, "It's gotta be some kind of nylon-material. Maybe carbon nanotubes but that could only be part of the equation."

"Maybe you can ask him if we bump into him?" I remarked, shrugging my shoulders, "One vigilante geek to the next."

"We should go patrol in Queens!" Mikey squealed.

New York was too big for us to go district hopping. There were enough problems in Manhattan the way there was. It was nice knowing another part of the city was being looked after but we didn't need to share enemies. Spider-man seemed to be able to take care of himself and that was good enough for me.

* * *

Woah! Spider-Man? Ya, I did that. I finished the new Spider-man game and I'm more in love with Peter Parker than I ever was before. Our beautiful vigilante will have a future in this story!


	12. Chapter 12

Leo was on the corner of 16th South Boil Street. An interesting place to let loose of his frustration. Donnie's handy Shell Cell tracking chips made it easy to pinpoint the eldest brothers every step but why was he in the sketchiest part of town? Maybe he thought it was one of the best places to take down some low-lives? However, when we found him, that didn't seem to be the case. We watched as his blue bandana walked right through the front doors of some random building. It was like, 1AM. The place was closed, just like the rest of the surrounding are. Leo ain't the kind of turtle to break and enter without a _really_ good reason. What I wanted to know, what was the reason?

Donnie pointed out the convenient windowed skylight on the roof that just so happened to be cracked open, just like we were meant to spy on our brother. From there, we watched Leo stand in the middle of a matted floor, arms crossed and his head swiveling like he was looking for something.

"What is this place?" I whispered to Donatello beside me. He was already looking it up on the Shell Cell.

"Looks like it's some urban martial arts studio. A privately owned institute," He mumbled, eyes reading the screen.

"Why would he come here?" I asked, not really expecting a reply. Donnie shrugged his shoulders anyway.

"Man, Leo's acting funny. Going into this place and storming off after training," Mikey said, "And I don't mean 'ha-ha' funny. I mean funny funny."

Donnie shook his head, "It's not like him to go off like this."

I eye-balled Raphael, "Ya. He's kind of acting like you," That earned me a glare.

"Oh great, another Raph. That's just what we need. Now, another me would be a good thing. I would..." Mikey was interrupted by Raph smacking his head.

"Keep ya voice down, will ya? Ninja?"

I pointed to the room down below.

"Hello? Hello!?"

Darkness surrounded Leonardo with the exception of the silvery moonlight beaming down from the skylight above him. He stood, eyes narrowed. Then, out of the shadows, appeared several Foot ninja, a dozen of them all with weapons already unsheathed. It was a trap, one Leo walked right into… knowingly?

I tensed, grabbing the glass in an effort to pull it open more but stopped when Raph took me by the shoulder and pulled me back.

"If Leo needs us, we're here. But let's see what this is all about," He whispered in my ear.

I nodded slightly though I didn't loosen my muscles in the slightest. This was a weird, flaky situation. Leo defeated the Foot ninja that surrounded him easily, just as I expected he could but I still understand _why_ he was here in the first place. Leo swiveled his head, looking down at the unconscious bodies around him. The grip on his katana loosened. The current danger must have been passed.

Though, another figure stepped into the light. A man. Not a Foot ninja. He wore grey and black robes, traditional dojo attire. He had a slender build, slicked black hair, and a sharp jawline that was pulled back into a thin smirk. He clapped his hands slowly, almost dramatically.

"Impressive. Very impressive," His gravelly voice said. "My agents said you were good but their description doesn't do you justice. I am Oroku Saki, eighth generation master of..."

 _Excuse me?_ I wasn't sure I heard that right.

"Did he just say what I think he just said?" Mikey whispered in a gulp.

"Oroku Saki," Donnie confirmed my fear. I did hear it right.

"Are we sure this isn't just a different Oroku Saki?" I asked hopefully. It was a question that sounded like something Mikey would ask but this situation was a little too unreal for me to handle.

"How many Oroku Saki's that lead an army of Foot ninjas do you think there are Jade?" Raph asked roughly. Donnie hit his shoulder.

I didn't want to believe it. This man was a part of my dark past. Hell, he was a part of Splinter's dark past too. And Leo... Was talking to him?

"Ya, I know who you are," Leo growled.

Saki raised an eyebrow, "Do you? That _is_ interesting. We have important matters to discuss. Things you need to know. What is your name?"

"Leonardo," Leo put a hand on his plastron. "And there are definitely things I need to know. Like why ninjas... Your ninjas have been trying to break our heads for months now and why you kidnapp..."

Saki put a hand up, interrupting him in mid-sentence, "That is exactly why we need to talk. We have been fighting each other when we should be on the same side, fighting against our true enemy."

Leo crossed his arms, "I think I have the scars to prove that you guys are the true enemy."

Saki narrowed his eyes, "You think that's what clear but you have been caught in the middle of a battle that is so much bigger than yourself. But you must know that there is a force, a corrupt and evil force that is out there right now, working its insidious tentacles into every aspect of our world. It is an organization that is devoted to obtaining power through crime, political manipulation and corruption on a global level."

Leo's eyes went wide with surprise, "Whoa."

"Unfortunately, the only thing standing against this evil force is me and my... humble army of ninjas," Saki continued, "We stand alone against them. As my master did, and his master before him. It has been my destiny to fight for the side of good! I was hoping that you would find in your heart to join me and fight against this evil. We could stand together."

Leo uncrossed his arms, "Well..." He started until Saki interrupted him again.

"Is he actually falling for this?" I whispered. My brothers had no answer for this. Saki worked with Stockman, so he could technically be involved with the destruction of our old home as well. There was too much destruction and darkness in our past with this man and I feared there'd be so much more in our future.

"I would not ask you to decide here and now. Meditate upon what you have heard today and come again tomorrow night with your answer," Saki turned around and left the room without waiting for Leo to respond.

Leo hesitated for a moment before leaving the building, heading for the rooftops. Raph nudged me, "Come on, we're goin' after 'em"

Mikey was the first catch up with Leo, "Oh Leonardo!" He called in a funny voice, "You have some explaining to do."

Leo stopped and turned around, surprised to see us behind him. There was horror, shock and even a little guilt all splashed into one expression. I had to stay back as Raph pushed Leo against a brick wall. His finger was pointed an inch from the blue banded turtles face. Raph didn't even have to say anything, Leo started to ramble right away.

"It's not what you think you guys! I was invited to..." He started, spurting over his words.

"To join up with 'em?" Raph finished for him. I backed away, farther than I already was, keeping a narrow glower set on my brother.

"No!" Leo exclaimed. "I mean... Yes. But it's not what you think! They're not the enemy, everything Master Saki said was..."

"Master Saki? What's up with that huh?" Raph demanded, shoving Leo into the wall again. Leo shoved him back.

"I thought we already had a master... Master Splinter? Remember him Leo?" Donnie said with his hands on his hips.

"Real hairy guy, about this tall?" Mikey indicated a short height with his hand, "I don't think we can just ditch him."

"I'm not talking about ditching anyone, I'm only talking about working with another group of ninjas in a fight against evil," He almost sounded like he was pleading.

"Against evil?" I never thought I'd have to say these things, but here I was. My voice burned, "He _is_ evil Leonardo! Don't you remember what his men did to me? What I went through? What he did to our father? He's the only true evil this city and you know it!"

"We don't even know if it really was Oroku Saki who did that to you. It was a just a guess, Jade! Ya, you got a bunch ugly scars from being somebody's guinea pig! Someone's lab rat. Hell, maybe you were never even kidnapped. Maybe you did all the crap to yourself and you ran away from your home. Who knows? We don't. You never told us anything! It isn't all about you Jade so stop acting like it is!"

I had already opened my mouth to reply but those words completely caught me off guard. At first, all I wanted was to turn around and leave, to pretend that this wasn't happening but it wasn't in me to just run away without saying a few words, "I'm _not_ trying to make this all about me. I'm trying to get through to your thick head! Oroku Saki destroyed Sensei's life and tried to murder him in the process! He almost did! Him and Baxter are behind those mousers, the ones that demolished our old home! Remember that? All that big talk to you about fighting against evil and corruption? He's playing you, Leonardo!" I moved closer, enough to push him back. I was trying to fight angry tears back now. That last part he said had hurt. It cut into places old blades hadn't been able to touch. I couldn't even yell at him, my voice fell to just a whisper, "A guinea pig? How _dare_ you?"

Then I was gone. Donnie called my name but I didn't turn back.

This was all a bad dream. It had to be.


	13. Chapter 13

I didn't want to go home.

I knew it wasn't a great idea on my part to hang around the city by myself without at least one of my brothers with me. Splinter didn't allow it. But I was mad. I was so mad that I didn't care that I wasn't supposed to be out topside like this. Leo. Out of all the turtles it was Leonardo who had gone off the deep end. He wasn't supposed to do that. That's not what the eldest was supposed to do.

Why did he do that?

 _Why_ did he believe Oroku Saki?

There was a reason Master Splinter told us his background story over and over. I always knew there was a reason. Oroku Saki was a bad man. He had done very bad things. He left Splinter for _dead._ It was true that I really knew nothing more about Saki after that. He left my adoptive rat father for dead. That's all I knew. And maybe that he works with Stockman, the man who was also somehow a part of my robbed toddler and early childhood. But after that... Oroku Saki was a stranger and the kind of stranger I had the worst gut feeling about.

 _Fine. You know what? Do whatever the heck you want Leonardo. Ruin your life. Get yourself killed. Get our family killed while you're at it. Maybe you'll realize how much of an idiot you're sounding like after we're all dead._

I walked along the edge of the suburban rooftops with my hands shoved in my sweatshirt pockets. The nights were getting colder. Frost nipped at my exposed skin, especially tingling my cheeks. Winter was well on its way. The worst season for my brothers. It would be hard for us to go on patrol with such cold nights. They froze too easily being cold blooded and all.

My Shell Cell vibrated. Donnie.

 _"Jade? Where are you?"_ Only slightly worried. He knew I was upset.

"Corner of 34th and Anderson. Just walking."

 _"You should probably start thinking about heading back. Splinter will get antsy if you're gone for too long."_

"I'll think about it." I muttered, turning around. I was a miles from home. I could take my time.

There was a silence and then, _"Leo screwed up."_

"Ya think?" I huffed a very unamused puff of cold air. That was the understatement of the year.

 _"What he said Jade... You know he didn't mean it. Oroku Saki is a very manipulative individual."_

"Splinter told us about Saki for a reason. He wanted us to be prepared. Leo is supposed to be on top of his game before the rest of us. Right? He's supposed to be our leader," I sighed. Kicking at a chunk of cement on the corner of the rooftop, "Some leader," I huffed.

 _"He's our leader but he's not a perfect turtle. Leo was frustrated with his own self esteem and he let his desires cloud his judgment."_

I felt a small smile lift on my lips, "You're starting to sound like Splinter."

 _"I try,"_ heard a low chuckle on the other end of the line.

My smile faded after a few minutes of silence, "So are you telling me this to get me to apologize for running off?"

 _"Definitely not. I think you had every reason to take a little quiet time."_

"Then you're apologizing for Leo?"

 _"No. It's actually really late. Splinter and I are the last ones waiting up for you,"_

How rude of Leonardo to go to sleep.

 _"Besides, I can hear your teeth chattering."_

He was right. I'd gotten more cold the last hour. I could see my breaths in whispy puffs or air.

I rubbed the back of the Shell Cell with my thumb. I guess he had a point. Leo was in a rough state of mind in the time that the training session had ended to the moment he said what he'd said. He didn't mean it. He couldn't have. And Leo would never join with Oroku Saki. The Shredder. He always despised the story of Hamato Yoshi's death. I wasn't sure how his common sense had gotten so foggy but he would come through. He always would for his family.

Right?

"I'll be home soon, Don."

 _"Good. There's a cup of hot chocolate with your name written on it."_


	14. Chapter 14

Splinter was worried. As he should be. We were going to face Oroku Saki. The Shredder. Leonardo was supposed to give Saki an answer and after so many days of contemplation, I was sure he understood what the silence meant. We weren't going to join him and his army of ninja.

I didn't understand why Sensei didn't join us. Wouldn't it have made sense? Sensei decided to stay back and let us use our trainings. I didn't hear the rest of his reasoning as I zoned out in deep thought during his talk with us. We were about to face the biggest enemy our family may ever have and my father was skipping out. My brothers and I were ninjas but we certainly weren't prepared for something this big so early in our lives. Splinter didn't want me to go. I was too young, not ready for such a foe. Not that any of us were.

I insisted. I used the argument of my past to get me a very wary blessing. Raphael was to stay by my side constantly.

To make matters worse, Leonardo and I still weren't on good terms. I didn't exactly avoid him throughout the day but I didn't speak to him. As selfish as it sounded, I wanted him to come to me first. I deserved the apology anyway. Even Donnie was a bit surprised when Leo never approached me.

Now we were walking the rooftops in silence. I felt dejected being on such terms with my brother before going into this feud. I was sure he did too. I had a gut feeling this night wasn't going to turn out real great.

As if awaiting Leonardo's decision, a large group of Foot ninja's stood on the rooftop of Saki's dojo. They didn't move at the sight of us and said nothing as we approached. Raph instinctually kept himself a step ahead front of me, muttering a reminder to stay beside him. I didn't argue because quite frankly, I was nervous. We all were. Raph just didn't show it as much and it made me feel more safe.

Leonardo stepped forward, "Tell your master the answer is no!"

It was the answer they expected. Not even a second passed before every Foot ninja jolted forward in a heavy attack. Raph stayed back to back with me. We didn't make a bad team at all. Usually, we weren't partners during our training sessions but I was thinking maybe we should be more often. Our continuous cycle of tag team attacks were near flawless. The Foot were hardly a real match it seemed, the only upper hand they really had were their numbers. Take out one and three more were there to replace'em. Though, as the battle progressed further, Foot soldiers suddenly thinned out. I didn't understand why as across the rooftop, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey still had plenty of bodies advancing toward them.

"Oh, great," Raph muttered.

"What?" I turned to see what he was grumbling about.

A _massive_ man. Large, broad shoulders and muscles that looked like they could pick up a whole semi without shaking. His blonde hair was strung back and hung loosely down his back in a ponytail. His most distinguishable feature was the Purple Dragon tattoo along his entire right arm.

The man cracked his knuckles, "I've been looking forward to this rematch, freak."

 _Rematch?_

"Who the hell is that?"

"Hun."

Knowing his name didn't really answer my question. _How_ did they know who this guy was? I would have remembered fighting someone like this on patrol.

Donnie was close enough to add on, "We fought him that night our old home was demolished."

That would have been nice to know.

Hun grinned as he'd heard what Donnie had just explained, "Yes. But I'm sure I don't remember a girl with you the last time. You must be Jade."

I lowered my chin. Stranger danger, it freaked me out, "Aaannd… how do you know me?"

"Stockman spoke highly of you when he told the Master of your unexpected reappearance after all these years. You and him have much to catch up on."

"Uh, I'm not much of a party person. Pretty introverted, actually," I replied, trying to keep myself as nonchalant as humanly possible. Hun saw right through it.

"The Master will accommodate such needs," Then, another battle unfolded. Raph told me to not to try anything with Hun, to watch his and Donnie's back from any Foot that tried to catch them from behind. I did as he said but I had a hard time not straying too far. The Foot were more than many and without Raph, I was finding it a difficult time to stay on the offensive. What made it even better was the sword that was swung into an electrical box beside me. Sparks flew and flames were an instant. Some Foot were caught in the initial blaze, the first few flames were my ally but before long, the fire was on its own side. Now I was separated from _all_ my brothers, let alone just Raph and Donnie.

The orange blaze was more of a wildfire, flames rose high above my head and cackled at my helplessness. I couldn't get around, not without attempting to burn my entire body. The Foot and Hun had my brothers completely occupied and I couldn't help but wonder if this was the whole idea all along. Separating me from them? My answer was so clear after I was left alone with a certain individual. I couldn't see his face behind the silver mask he hid behind but I didn't need to. I knew who he was even if I'd never seen him in this getup before.

Oroku Saki. The Shredder.

"So after all these years, here you are. I was wondering where you'd run off to. Stockman shouldn't have left you to wander by yourself."

I played it stupid, "What are you talking about?"

"We have unfinished business. Surely you remember your stay with Stockman and his team of... Colleagues. He said he recognized you when you and your... _Turtles_ insinuated his Mouser operations. Jade? Is it?"

He knew who I was and yet I still tried to play stupid. I just wanted answers, "Who are you?" The question was so broad. He could have been anybody since he's apparently played so many parts in my past.

"We only met once when you were very tiny so I cannot blame you for forgetting me but I am the reason you are _what_ you are today. Would you like to know what happened to you all those years ago?"

I took a step back and he took a heavy step forward. My heart began to race, "No," It was the only word I could choke out. I felt fear and panic begin to rise in my stomach. His voice cut my courage like the sharp corners of his armor. His appearance, not just physically, but his whole presence was dark and sinister. I was terrified of this man.

Oroku Saki chuckled, "You're still as much of a child as you were the last time we met. Fear makes you weak, little one. I can make you stronger. You have more potential than you realize."

I took another step back but found myself closing in to a wall of fire. I couldn't go with him. I wasn't going to be tricked like Leo had, "No."

I could see his eyes go dark, maybe annoyed with my persistence. I was sure I could imagine a frown form on his thin lips, "You are making a mistake. I will spare your friends if you come with me now."

It was daunting. I wasn't sure if he was really telling me a lie or if he would leave my brothers alone if I walked away with him now. Yet, my brothers and I have been keeping our ground fairly well. We risk our lives with every fight we walk into but none have ever threatened our well beings too harshly. My brothers would be handle themselves if I chose to walk with the Shredder now and they would be able to handle themselves if I declined.

"I will not be your prisoner again," I muttered lowly.

Saki shook his head, "You have clouded judgement. That is an issue that can be easily dealt with."

I was barely able to block the quick attack that was aimed for my skull. His skills far outreach efforts mine. Attack after attack, I could already feel myself on the edge of a loss. His black katana was deadly. I wouldn't be able to keep up with him for long. I wasn't even sure if Shredder was breaking a sweat. It almost like he was toying with me.

An explosion caught the both of us off guard. A partial of the building on the other side of the rooftop had collapsed. There was an insistent yell belonging to Mikey but I didn't catch what he had said. Saki returned his attention to me in an instant. He didn't seem to care that his dojo was on the verge of becoming a pile of charcoal and rubble. What I knew was that this building fire wouldn't go unnoticed for much longer. I was sure that someone would call 911 soon, if someone already hadn't.

Ten seconds after that initial thought, I felt the crack of the roof close to Saki and I. A shift in movement and there was only a second of processing before the ground went out from under our feet. I swore I heard a pitched scream but I wasn't sure if it came from me or someone else.

I just fell and was welcomed in a dark embrace.


	15. Chapter 15

The heat is what woke me. At least I thought it was. Either that or it was my head. Throbbing like someone was hitting away at the inside of my skull with a hammer. My eyes opened to a flurry of orange and yellow. I was on the floor of the burning dojo. The heat burned my skin. Sweat dripped down my forehead in small streams. When I shifted, my shoulder cried. Glancing at it, I noticed a sticky liquid oozing from my shirt. I didn't have time to look at it now,

 _I need to get out of here._

Pushing myself to my shaky feet was a struggle. It was more than my shoulder that needed attention. My ankle was felt busted and my left wrist, same limb with the bloody shoulder, was completely numb.

Burning rubble was everywhere. The ceiling was no longer intact and I knew it wouldn't be long until the entire building gave away as well. The front doors were a no go. A wall of fire stood in my way and even if there wasn't, I wouldn't want to try explaining to the cops what happened here. I could vaguely see the flashing red and blue through the flames. I turned for the back. There was a path for me to follow that coincidentally led to an exit.

Grabbing the door handle, I choked out a yelp of pain, the metal was like a stovetop. My hand shook. I couldn't drop the door down with the state my ankle was in. I had no other choice so I decided to use the hand that already had a cropped shoulder and damaged wrist. Might as well keep one good arm intact.

 _Shit._

I could see the skin on my palm sizzle for the five seconds it held the door handle. When I finally busted it open, I found myself in a long alleyway. Rain fell to the earth in large drops.

There was nobody. No Foot. No Shredder. No brothers. I was alone. I reached to my back pocket but found no Shell Cell clipped there. It must have fallen out when I fell.

 _Just move. Get to the sewers._

That would be option one. Option one was to just get to safety and make my way to the lair and hope that my brothers have the same idea. Option two... Well I would figure that out of option one became a problem.

Before turning the corner out of the alley and into the street, I heard a low rumble behind me. The walls of the dojo had finally broken. Collapsed brick somehow ignited another large burst of flames. Time to go. I had to stick to the shadows on the sidewalk. The rooftops were a no-go for me. I was having a hard time staying on my feet the way it was.

I rounded the corner on 42nd street. I could use the manhole in the middle of the road to walk my way back home. It was a long ten miles but I was pretty sure I knew the way. I was just about to turn to the alley when I heard a scrapped sound of screeching metal against pavement. It wasn't my brothers moving the manhole cover, it was the Foot. At least a dozen of them. So now they somehow knew my family lived in the sewers. How? I didn't know but plan one was a no-go now.

Time for a new plan.

I wish I would have had my Shell Cell on me. April knew what we were heading into tonight. I told her everything. Her apartment was a few blocks away but it was a viable place to take a breather and recoup. I wasn't thrilled with bringing April into the whole Shredder mess but I needed medical attention. I knew April knew the basics and it would be enough to hold me by until Donnie could take a look at me.

I waited for the Foot ninjas to cover the manhole back up before I made my way toward April's apartment. It didn't take long due to the lack of activity in the streets. It was unusual for the streets to be empty like this. And I expected to see more Foot ninjas along the way. As weird as it was, it just made the travel easier for me.

April's antique store, 2nd Time Around, was dark but there was a light on in the apartment complex above. I pressed the buzzer button and a moment later, April's voice sounded.

 _"Who is it?"_

"April... it's me!" I panted heavily, "It's Jade! I… I need help."

The door clicked. I winced when I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. My hand was in more pain than my shoulder was. April found me struggling to get up the stairs.

"Fight didn't go too well, huh?"

I shook my head, "Not for me it didn't."

I explained the events. From the infinite Foot ninja's to Hun to my solo battle with Oroku Saki himself all the way to the after-effect of the burning building and the reason behind my injuries. April set me on the floor with my back against the couch. She grabbed her cell phone and told me she would call Don.

There was a short pause as she waited for my brother to pick up.

"Don... Donnie, it's April! Calm down!"

 _Pause._

 _"_ No, she's not. She's at my place right now."

 _Pause._ April glanced over at me, "Just your hand and shoulder?"

"A twisted ankle and maybe a sprained wrist. Probably could include the burns too," I said behind my clenched teeth, glancing down to take a look at my shiners.

April relayed the news through the phone.

 _Pause._

"Are you guys ok?"

 _Pause._ This pause was a long one. It felt like forever before April started talking again.

"Come over. You guys can stay here for the time being. Just be careful."

She turned to me after hanging up and tossing her phone on the couch.

"Donnie, Mikey and Splinter are together and meeting up with Raph right now. Donnie wasn't sure how but the Foot somehow found out you all live in the sewer so it isn't safe for you guys to go home right now."

I knocked my head to the side as she scooped some supplies from the kitchen including a first aid kit, a bowl with water and a rag, "What about Leo?"

Her eyes avoided mine, "They don't know where he is right now. Donnie thought he might have stuck around the dojo but I find that doubtful since the place would have been swarming with law enforcement."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he stuck around to see if he could pull me out of the rubble," I sighed.

She gave me a short look as she began to sanitize my melted palm, "Anything happen with Leo beforehand?"

April knew enough about Leo's actions the night before. It was the reason we were in this mess in the first place.

I shook my head gravely, "No. Nothing."

April didn't push anything more. I wasn't in the mood to talk about it. For all I knew, Leo thought I was dead and the last thing memory of us speaking wasn't the usual brother and sister relationship we shared. Leonardo and I were undeniably close. Since day one, Leo had taken my under his wing and taught me things I don't think anyone else could have ever taught me,yet here we were.

My stomach constricted. My fingertips began to shake. April's eyes flickered to my jitteriness but she still kept silent.

I took off my shirt, leaving me sitting on the couch with a black sports bra on. I peered at my shoulder. It was bad. The skin was ripped and there were small pebbles of rubble that had embedded itself within the flesh. Fresh blood was still slowly oozing, covering blood that had already dried itself. My hand was still sizzling and it was bright red with small bumps that were more noticeable on my palm.

We sat in a quiet yet stressful silence as April began to patch me up wound by wound. She used a pair of tweezers to pull out the small pieces of rubble from my shoulder, then wrapped it and helped me put my shirt back on. She decided to use the sling just so it was easier for me to maneuver. My ankle was wrapped and my hand was sanitized. I was looking like a wreck by the time April finished with me almost an hour and a half later, looking like I'd been mugged in an alley or something. April decided to go call Casey and have him come over too.

I leaned my head against the couch. A wave of complete exhaustion swept over me. Everything hurt. I ached and felt so bruised. Every nerve in my body was stung and shot. April came back into the room and asked me if I wanted some water. When I shook my head, she nodded and slumped herself on the couch. Then we sat there in another long silence. My eyes dropped and I knew I had fallen asleep for awhile despite my pain but woke up the moment I heard a weak tap on the window. Raph was standing on the fire escape with Donnie, Mikey, and Master Splinter. I pulled myself to my feet as April unlocked the window. Raph was the first to greet me. Eyes wide with a very unfamiliar look of worry and relief, he took one look at my bruised and bandaged figure before pulling me into a hug. The pressure of his arms pulling me in tightly made my injured shoulder scream but at that moment, I really didn't care. I melted into that embrace.

"You okay?" He asked when we finally pulled away. His voice was edgy. It quivered, another thing I didn't recognize from the strong headed brother. He was supposed to stay by my side and I almost died. The Shredder and I fought and the appointed brother didn't have my back. He almost lost me.

I nodded, giving his hand a small squeeze, "I'm okay."

My stomach turned over as Donnie, Splinter, and Mikey greeted me in a series of hugs and questions of my physical well being. I felt as though I was on the verge of tears. They were okay. They were alive. And yet, I was still emotionally unstable, not just because Leonardo was missing but because the idea of my last words shared with Leonardo weren't the most pleasant. The more I thought about it, the more I wished I would have manned up and just straight up talked with him about it after both of us had cooled down a bit.

Now look where we were.

"You guys alright?" I asked as Mikey limply wandered toward the kitchen and Splinter seated himself on the couch.

Donnie nodded, "Mostly, nothing a few stitches can't handle."

By what I could tell, Mikey had a bad cut on his leg and Donnie had a nice slash down his bicep. Raph and Splinter looked the most unharmed.

"And you guys don't know where Leo is?" I trained my eyes at Donnie who shook his head. His three fingered hand slid down his face and beak tenebrously.

"No. We were all split up after the dojo burned down. Both you and Leo didn't have a signal on your Shell Cells. I figured you guys dropped it somewhere and they broke. So we tried heading back into the sewer, but because we all knew that it was supposed to be our safe zone but some Foot ninjas followed us. Now they know we live down there somewhere. That's when April called."

"Ow!" Mikey yelped from the kitchen table where April was stitching his leg.

"If you'd quit moving it would hurt so much!" April chastised him, rolling her eyes in irritation.

"I can't help it!" He complained.

I rolled my eyes as April did, clenching my teeth as I readjusted the sling that held my shaky arm.

"So, what happened to you then?" Donnie asked, eyeing my injuries.

"I blacked out after the roof collapsed. Only for a minute or two though. I managed to get to the back door of the building and into an alleyway before the entire building fell," I started to explain.

"Did you think about going into the sewers?"

I nodded, "I was going to head for the lair but I saw some Foot ninjas jumping down there so I just decided to come here instead," I explained. I still felt guilty for pulling April into this whole ordeal even further by seeking refuge in her apartment. It was dangerous enough for her to know that my family and I even existed.

Mikey walked over at that moment without a limp.

"Okay Donnie, it's you're turn!" He pointed to Donnie's arm and then to April who was waiting like a vultured nurse. The cut Donnie had was incredibly noticeable.

The purple banded turtle's brows furrowed behind his mask as he glanced at the cut, "Ah, It's not even that..."

His sentence was cut off by a faint yell. We all jumped in surprise as Leonardo's mangled body crashed through the window, landing in a bloody heap in front of us like a rag doll.


	16. Chapter 16

_We all jumped as Leonardo's mangled body crashed through the window, landing in front of us with pieces of shattered glass surrounded the floor around him._

Despite my injuries, I was at Leonardo's side in a matter of seconds. I placed my uninjured hand on his cheek and turned his head in my direction. Eyes fluttered and skin trembled.

"What happened?" I watched recognition form in his pupils. His heavy breathing was preventing him from giving an understandable answer.

"I'm gonna find out who did this!" Raph exclaimed, furiously as headed for the window.

"Wait... Raph!" Leo called out weakly, suddenly finding a voice. The red banded turtle was back at his side instantly.

Leo grimaced as he clumsily placed his other hand on Raph's shoulder, "We n-need to get out of here... The S-Shredder... He's here..." His eyes rolled back into his head and his cheek fell limp against my hand.

"What?" April cried, as if she didn't hear it, "What did he just say?"

"He said, the Shredders here!" Mikey repeated, as Donnie, Raph, Splinter and I were huddled over Leo.

"There's a lot of blood on his shoulder. Looks like a deep wound," Donnie muttered, inspecting the worse of the the eldest brothers injuries. "April, I need a rag."

Raph stood up suddenly, tightly gripping his sais, "When I see the Shredder, I'm gonna rip his fuckin' little..."

"My son!" Master Splinter rested a gentle paw on Raph's shoulder, "Calm yourself. We must help Leonardo."

"Uh guys? We have company!" Mikey hand pointed outside the window.

Across the rooftops were dozens upon dozens of Foot ninjas. Perhaps more than whom we fought with earlier. How did the Shredder have such a following?

"Time to go!" Donnie yelled.

"What's the plan? Leo's always the one with a plan, so what are we going to do without Leo giving us a plan?" Mikey yelled, his voice was pure panic.

"There's no time to make up a plan," Raph snapped.

"Why not?"

Foot ninjas began crashing through the already broken windows.

"Jade, April, grab Leo! Keep pressure on that wound. We'll cover you two!" Donnie exclaimed, pulling out his bo staff.

It was hard to do too much with one arm and a twisted ankle. My brothers and Splinter did well with making sure April and I safety managed to bring Leo behind the couch. I kept the tag pressed down on my brother's shoulder, the blood beginning to slow down thankfully. It must have not been as deep as Donnie originally thought. I felt a little leap of hope as Leo began to move again.

"What happened to him?" April muttered, looking over the rest of his battered skin.

I shook my head gravely, "He can't take on an army of Foot by himself. None of us can."

Mikey jumped over the back of the couch, sweat trickled down his forehead, "We're going downstairs."

"How are we getting him downstairs?" I asked. I doubted Mikey was going to help April and I with all the commotion.

"My swords... W-where are my swords?" Leo choked out suddenly.

"Take it easy bro, we're getting you out of here!"

April grabbed his arm and helped Leo sit up, "He might have just enough strength to stand and take a few steps."

I nodded and stood, deciding to make it my job to open the door that led to shop downstairs. It was a bit embarrassing that I wasn't more helpful. Apparently Mikey saw my struggle and he brushed past me as Splinter yelled, "Raphael, Donatello, cover the rear."

"Leo! Lean on me!" I heard April groan in frustration.

"April, get away if you can... This is our fight, not yours..." Leo stammered out weakly.

"Not my fight?" April turned her head to look at him. "Look Leo, we're family now. I could never run out on you!" She started for the door to the shop with my brothers arm over her shoulder, yanking gently in an effort to keep control over him. She wasn't backing down so easily, "Let's go!"

Mikey opened the door to find more Foot ninjas behind it. They had already began to come through the shop. I stayed back as my brother took care of the few ninja's there were.

"All clear!" Mikey cried.

Donnie and Splinter had slowly made their way to the door, "Raph! This bus is leaving!"

Raph nodded in the midst of punching a Foot ninja. He joined Donnie and Splinter at the door, fighting off the hoard of ninjas still jumping through the windows. I nudged Mikey.

"Come on, let's scope out the store," He helped me down the stairs with a nervous gulp and I opened the shop door with my good hand.

Mikey gulped again before peering inside the shop. "It's quiet... Almost too quiet," He then turned to grin at me. "Always wanted to say that."

I smacked his arm, "Focus Mikey!"

We opened the door completely to find four ninjas waiting for us. Their shiny plated armor was cloaked with red. They each had a different weapon and they all wore a bowl shaped hats on their heads. _Kasa's._ These weren't Foot ninjas but bearing the Shredder symbol, they weren't on our side.

"Uh... Nice hats," Mikey closed the door and started back up the stairs.

"Wrong way Mikey!" Donnie cried.

"Wrong way my foot!" Mikey exclaimed. "Poor choice of words but, major ambush down there!"

"We don't have a choice! They're pouring in through the windows upstairs!"

"Hey!" Raph yelled from the top of the stairs, still fighting off Foot ninjas. "What's the story down there?"

Mikey used his hands to cup his mouth, "There's some mean looking guys down here!"

Donnie raised an eyebrow behind his purple mask, "Mean looking? Duh!" He scoffed.

I rolled my eyes and opened the door again for my brother to see for himself.

Donnie stared at the ninjas, "...Nice hats." One of the ninjas threw his axe. I managed to push him aside and out of the way before ducking to avoid the axe. My breath came heavy. Pushing my brother had surprisingly taken a lot of energy.

Another ninja threw his spear at Donnie. He gasped but managed to barely avoid the shot as it pierced the wall next to him. He moved back to the doorway where the stairs were after getting me to my feet.

"Raphie! We got trouble down here!" I yelled as I crawled back through the door.

"Like I don't got trouble up here!" Raph yelled in response, grunting as he punched his way out of a lame hold a Foot tried to have over him.

Splinter stopped April and Leo from entering the shop, "Shredder's Elite Guards! They are the deadliest of his warriors, lethal assassins!" He raced upstairs and with a few short words, traded places with Raph.

The sai wielding turtle came downstairs and and entered the shop with Donnie, Mikey and I. He took one look at the ninjas and made a look, clearly wondering if this was some kind of joke, "Uh… nice hats."

"Yeah, we thought so too," Mikey agreed. Both him and Donnie were nodding.

The Elite ninjas charged, wasting no words. These guys didn't talk too much.

"Jade, help April!" Donnie huffed between ongoing attacks.

I nodded, knowing I wasn't much use at the moment to do anything else.

April had already set Leo on the ground against the wall in the far corner of the store. My brother was struggling to stay awake, his fluttered his eyes constantly. When I approached and kneeled, he swallowed, seeming to struggle with words.

"Jade… I'm… I'm sorry..." He whispered after a second. He gripped my hand tightly.

I rubbed a thumb over his leathery skin, not entirely sure how to answer. This wasn't exactly the time to apologize for anything no matter how badly we screwed up. There were bigger things to worry about.

"Don't worry about it right now Leo," I whispered.

He let out a humorless laugh, accompanied by a soft roll of his glossy eyes, "J-Jade... Just let.. Me..."

"Jade," Aprils voice cut him off, she was staring behind me.

I felt a big, tall figure standing behind me.

Hun.

Hun smiled and cracked his knuckles, "He doesn't look too well," He looked over my shoulder at Leo as I stood up, "Shall I put him out of his misery?"

"You're not touching him."

Hun shrugged and his smirk grew. He eyed my sling and wrapped hand, "Well, you're not looking very healthy either. Ladies first as they always say."

"I didn't think a Purple Dragon could have such manners," I said smugly. My right hand unsheathed one of the few shurikens I had left.

"Jade..." I heard Leo say weakly behind me.

Hun swung his overly large fist.

I ducked, "April! Get Leo out of here, now!"

Dropping low, I quickly slid out a shuriken, impaling his thigh. Hun cried out and swung his big arm. I ducked and turned. It was easier for me to maneuver between the tight aisles. I felt a little bitter about all the antiques shattering behind me. April really liked some of those.

Shelves toppled over as Hun pursued me. Then my ankle began to give out. My hand grabbed the top of a shelf. My foot twisted and I tripped. Barely a second after, I massive hand grabbed my burned arm and pulled me into the air. The strap of sling pulled on my neck and Hun grinned.

Hun leaned his face close to mine. His hostile breath invaded my nostrils, "Not so strong now are we?"

I couldn't resist. Sure my shoulder killed, but I wasn't going to beg for pity and satisfaction, "Bite me, asshole."

"Put her down!" I heard Mikey yell from somewhere behind me.

"As you wish," With a loud grunt, Hun threw me across the shop. My back collided with a pipe that was connected to the ceiling and floor.

"Jade!" Donnie hauled me to my feet.

I gritted my teeth weakly, grabbing my shoulder in pain as Donnie grabbed the sling that was still around my arm and put the strap over my head and rested it on my opposite shoulder. My breaths were harsh. Donnie put one hand on my shoulder and another one on my cheek. His eyes were wide, "You okay?"

I nodded, "Good," Not actually. My back was going to break any second now. I'm lucky my spine didn't snap with the impact of the pipe.

The Elite ninjas suddenly vanished in a scene of smoke. Raph and Mikey gave each other each other confused glances as they began backing up closer to Donnie and I. Sensei walked up behind us. I saw Hun lying on the ground. Splinter must had taken him down.

"Maybe they gave up?" Mikey suggested hopefully.

Smoke blew up by the front door of the shop as a familiar armored figure kicked the door off its hinges.

"I'm guessing not..." Raph growled.

The Shredder stood in the doorway, looking at each us of, "You've all been a thorn in my side for too long. My Foot have failed too many operations because you abominations!"

Master Splinter pushed through Raph and Mikey. Donnie pushed me behind him. I could feel his heart pounding as I grabbed his shaky hand and peeked at the front door from behind his shell.

"I will have my revenge from our last encounter, _rodent._ You all had better say farewell, while you still can," The Shredder continued.

Did the Shredder truly know who he was speaking to? Did he actually know that Splinter, was the Splinter he'd quarreled with in the past? How could he? He'd never seen Splinter in his rat form?

"Oh ya, Mr. Spikey Pants?" Mikey put on his best serious face. "Well, you're the one who should be saying farewell… to uh… to yourself!"

"Oh yeah Mikey," Raph snorted, "That'll get him."

Mikey glanced over at Raph, "Hey! I'm under a lot of pressure right now."

"Silence!" The Shredder roared.

"This attack is nothing but a cowardly gambit!" Master Splinter snapped, "Wearing us down by sheer numbers! It is not the way of the ninja!"

The Shredder step back in surprise, then let out a short laugh, "You've still not learned, my old friend. I fight to _win,"_ He snapped hai fingers, a signal to the Elite ninjas standing behind him, "Finish the turtles and take the girl," He pointed at me, then to Splinter, "The rodent is mine."

His Elite ninjas obeyed, attacking without question. Raph, Mikey and Don fought them off as the Shredder and Splinter squared off. I shuffled back to Leo and April who were at the back of the shop. Leo's head and shoulders were in April's lap, currently unconscious. We jumped when the glass of the windows in the front of the shop shattered. A motorcycle was thrown to the side of the room as a man jumped off of it in the air and landed in the middle of the room. He wore a white hockey mask.

 _Casey Jones._

"Now that's what I call crashing a party," He approached one of the Elite ninjas with a metal baseball bat, "Though I've never seen a lamer party in my life!" He hit the Elite square in the chest with the bat, "This can't be the band… I want rock and roll man!"

Don, Raph, Mikey and Master Splinter followed his lead, leaving the Shredder to walk over to me. He smirked darkly.

"You're coming with me my dear."

I held up a shuriken, "You'll have to kill me first."

"That can be arranged."

The gauntlet had three long spikes on it, he held it up and got ready to take a blow towards my head. He'll take me dead? How did that make any sense?

"No!" Master Splinter had blocked the blow with his walking stick. "You have killed my family once! I will not allow it to happen again!"

"You dare to stop me?" The Shredder snarled.

I backed away, As Splinter ordered me to do over his shoulder. As they battled, more Foot ninjas came through the already shattered windows. I glanced around the room, eyeing each of my friends and family. We were overrun and the numbers the Foot were far past wearing us down, they were beating us to a pulp. We were tired, sore, overpowered. If we didn't leave now, we weren't going to make it out of here alive.

Master Splinter yelled to my brothers, "We must retreat!"

"To where?" Raph yelled, kicking a Foot ninja.

April started dragging Leo to a door on the far side of the shop, "In there!"

I opened the door as Mikey ran over to help April. Casey, Donnie and Raph quickly made their way to the door. Splinter gave the Shredder a last kick, giving my father enough time to scramble away and go through the door. Mikey quickly closed the door and locked it.

It extremely was claustrophobic in this room. Donnie kneeled down and grabbed my shoulders, reassuring me. I covered my eyes and started breathing in and out as slowly and as normally as I could. It was an exercise I had done with Donnie many times when I was younger. Raph and Mikey had been such bullies when we were younger, always stuffing me into rooms and locking the doors. My claustrophobic side had been bad before I joined the family but got worse on multiple occasions. When Splinter found out, Mikey and Raph had _totally_ gotten an earful.

"Well this is great," Raph's voice muttered, "Cold, cramped and dark."

"It's a walk-in cooler," April explained, "This place used to be a grocery store once upon a time..."

"Fascinatin'."

"It's kinda quiet out there. You think they all just... Went home?" Mikey's confused voice asked.

I looked up. My breathing had slowed enough to calm me down.

"Yeah Mikey," Raph rolled his eyes sarcasticall, "We scared them off by runnin' into a closet and lockin' the door," He then took deep, dramatic sniffs through his nose. "I smell smoke."

Donnie and I sniffed, "I smell gas," We both said at the same time.

Raph turned on Mikey, "Mikey!" He growled.

Donnie shook his hand exasperatedly, "Not that kind of gas!"

Mikey grabbed the doorknob, "Hey! This doors getting hot," He slammed his shoulder into the door, but it wouldn't give. "It's jammed! It won't open!"

Casey took a step forward, sliding his mask on top of his head, "Gas plus flame equals..." His eyes snapped open, "Let's book, now!"

Raph and Casey started trying to help Mikey open the door. Flames started appearing underneath the space below the door. April started pushing a heavy box at the back of the room.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I remember when I first moved here..." She started to explain as she pushed the box. "There was a hole in the wall, where a cooling unit was removed," She pointed to a thin metal ventilation shaft hatch that was screwed to the wall. "There."

I glanced back at the door next to me, smoke was beginning to creep it's way into the small room. Being on the ground, I was the first to inhale the deadly fumes. Donnie pulled me away.

Raph wedged his sai between the metal hatch and the wall, prying it off, "Alright everybody! Move it!"

Donnie left my side and helped April and Mikey pull Leo through the small hole, followed by Master Splinter and Casey. I stumbled after, crawling through the hole, getting weaker as I went. My shoulder burned and my head was throbbing so bad I felt like I was going to pass out. My ankle was no help either.

Raph instantaneously scooped me up in his arms. He pulled me to his plastron as I hooked my good arm around his neck and laid my heavy head on his shoulder, "I got ya kiddo, just stay with me."

We sprinted away front the shop, barely making a safe distance as it exploded. Fire and smoke consumed what was left of the building. April bursted into tears, sobbing into Casey's chest. Donnie and Mikey had Leo's arms wrapped around their shoulders, struggling to keep him upright.

"I'm sorry Ms. O'Neal. But we must help Leonardo find a safe place to heal."

"But... where?" Her wobbly voice asked.

"The lair?" Mikey suggested.

"We can't go to the lair," I said. Raph had set me down and let me use his arm as a handrail. "The Foot know we live down there."

"And we're in no shape to fight." Donnie added.

"Fellas," Casey started, almost cheerfully. "I know just the place. My grandma's old farmhouse is a few hours out of town in Massachusetts, we'll be safe there."

Master Splinter nodded in defeat, "Then let us go."

We left April's shop and home to burn in a tragic glory of flames.


	17. Chapter 17

We used Casey's suburban to drive to his grandmother's farmhouse. The windows weren't tinted at all and April didn't want my father and my brothers to be slouching on the floor of the car for a number of hours. Making sure nobody else saw them, Casey hooked up the a trailer to the back of the suburban. Splinter insisted that I stay in the comfort of the car due to my injuries.

He _tried_ to insist.

I refused. I wanted to stay with my family.

April gave all blankets to help with the incoming cold but even while sharing with Donnie, I couldn't escape the icy air. I locked my good arm around his, resting my head on his shoulder, trying to keep warm. We both shivered and felt our teeth chatter constantly. His skin was ice. I couldn't imagine how he was actually feeling, being cold blooded and all. Really, it was _me_ keeping _him_ warm. Across from us, Leo's head rested in Master Splinter's lap. He was _pale._ His usual mossy colored skin had lost most of its hue. Bruises and cuts covered his body like a terrible painting canvas.

He was in really bad shape.

"Is he gonna be okay Sensei?" Donnie asked, his voice shivering.

Master Splinter hesitated, "Only time will tell."

I couldn't take my eyes off the blue banded turtle. Despite his injuries, he looked peaceful. His apprehensive slumber erased the pained emotion he held hours earlier. I buried my head into Donnie's shoulder while he rested his cheek on the top of my head. Then there was a silence among us that wasn't entirely uncomfortable but rather troubling in a sort of way. We'd been driven from our home. We were all bruised and we had one of our own in critical condition. My own injuries were painful but I wasn't going to complain about them. Leonardo was top priority.

When our journey was finally coming to an end, I felt the wheels of the trailer begin to ease and slow down. April come to the back and open the trailer up.

"We're here. I'll help you bring Leo inside Master Splinter," April started. "Mikey, will you help Casey get firewood?"

"No problem Ape," Mikey said.

Releasing myself from Donnie, I scooted out the back, feeling a limp in my step as I joined Casey in front of the farmhouse.

"This is it!" He said happily. "Isn't it great?

I stared at the broken farmhouse. The window shutters were off their hinges and undeniably crooked. The once white paint was peeling off and slowly changing to an old yellow aspect. A window on the upper level was cracked, and there was more than a few shingles missing on the roof.

"Didn't they use this place in the Grapes of Wrath?" I cringed, limping my way to the front door.

I could feel Casey's scorching glare burning into the back of my head, "Hey!"

The porch creaked awfully with every step. I opened the door to find myself in a large living room connected to a kitchen. Though the outside was a train wreck, the inside looked rather cozy. April came behind me with Master Splinter and a very limp Leo. They laid him on the couch and wrapped him in a large comforter. As the rest of us came inside and settled in the living room, Casey and Mikey brought in an armload of firewood.

"... Alright, so this place needs some fixing up. It got a little run down after grandma passed away." Casey was saying to Mikey.

April had kneeled down to the fireplace, pulling a lever in the chute that released a large pile of soot and dust. Her and Mikey began coughing.

Mikey glared at Casey, "When was that? The late Jurassic?"

Casey returned his glare, "Dude, you live in a sewer."

"He's got a point." I said, resting a dumbfounded look on Mikey.

Before Mikey could snap any comment back at him, Leo groaned. His head shook slightly.

"Leo?" Donnie asked hopefully.

Leo's moans stopped shortly. His body gave a quick stutter, then he became still. Master Splinter quickly set a paw on my brother's forehead. He said nothing and proceeded to place his long fingers on Leo's neck. He was searching for a pulse.

"My son?" His voice cracked and in a second, we knew it wasn't a usual despairing voice heard from our Father. When he turned back to us, we knew by the look on his face.

We didn't want to believe it but we knew what was coming next.

"He is gone."


	18. Chapter 18

_"He is gone."_

That was all I could process in my mind. It was like there was some sick and twisted chant that continued to play those words over and over like a broken record player. My heart ached in the most painful way and a dull throb gnawed at my soul. I knew I was taking his death the worst of everyone in my family. Leo's body was peacefully lying in the spare bedroom. Two suns had risen since our arrival at the farmhouse but time barely seemed to move for me. I couldn't bring myself to find my footing from the chair next to his bed.

Everyone visited occasionally. They spoke to me sometimes, asking me to say something, or eat, or move around. I ignored them because I knew that at some point, I would have to do their things but for now, this is where I wanted to be. I'll move eventually. I'll eat when I can no longer take the hunger. I'll speak when I can find the words. If there were words to speak that is.

I replayed all memories I shared with Leonardo. Moments of happiness and joy that mostly took place during our one on one training sessions. Splinter had taught me a lot but Leo helped me perfect techniques. It was Leo that kept me going when I wanted to drop my weapons and say I couldn't do it. Leo picked me beyond my limits. I was still young but it was a lot of Leonardo's doing of the person I was today.

There were memories of my first few weeks at the old lair. The following weeks after Splinter had " _adopted"_ me. Raph was bitter. Donnie was curious but cautious. Mikey was talkative and overly ecstatic to a point where I was almost scared to be around him. Positive interaction was still relatively new to me and the youngest turtles presence was overwhelming. Leo balanced everyone out and he had made me feel the most comfortable. Like Donnie, he'd been curious of me and he was cautious to have a human living in the lair that Splinter protected from the discovery of humans, but he wasn't hesitant to approach me. At his young age, he had a steady personality and his calmness was soothing. He never asked me about the outside world but he enjoyed showing me things he liked. I started to feel like I had a brother.

And then there was the memory that I knew would be inevitable. Leo and I hadn't more than a few words since he'd gone AWOL and tried joining Oroku Saki out of sheer stupidity. Now he's laying on the bedside and I never got to say a word to him.

Except when he said he was sorry back at April's. I didn't think it was possible for my heart to plummet any further. Leo had tried apologizing for what he said. In the midst of a battle, I hadn't even thought twice about what he was saying sorry for.

" _Jade… I'm… I'm sorry…"_

" _Don't worry about it right now, Leo."_

I'm an idiot. I'm a goddamn idiot.

Now Leo was dead I couldn't say sorry back.


	19. Chapter 19

**A quick third person POV.**

Donnie stood in the doorway with a small plate of mashed potatoes and a glass of water, watching Jade sit silently on a chair mourning their big brothers death. Her shoulders slumped dramatically. She hadn't eaten anything, drinkin' anything… done anything since Leonardo had died. It had since then been three days. Everyone had their own method of mourning but Jade's was the most dangerous. He entered the room, placing the plate and glass on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Jade, you need to eat."

Donnie wasn't sure if she even heard what he said. If she did, she made no movement that showed she was interested in eating. He sighed and kneeled down on one knee next to her. Grabbing her hand, he used his other hand to gently cup her cheek and turn it towards him.

"Jade."

Her eyes were bloodshot and transfixed with grief but after he said her name, she gripped his hand back as if she needed some sort of contact.

"You need to eat." He repeated.

Donnie wasn't even sure if she was registering anything that he was saying. He started to turn toward the glass of water but stopped when Jade's grip on his hand tightened. It was like she was afraid that if he left, he would die too. His presence seemed to be helping her out by filling in the empty void she felt. He just nodded understandingly, and kneeled next to her for awhile. She returned her gaze to Leo's body on the bed. It was hard for Donnie to set his eyes on the eldest. Leo's unnatural stillness was carved a hole in his insides.

After a few long moments, Raph came and stood in the doorway, tilting his head slightly at Donnie. Donnie simply frowned and shook his head. Jade was just too deep under to do anything. He looked back at her and turned her head toward him again to regain some kind of attention.

"Please eat a little. For me?" He asked, praying she will do something; make some sort of motion.

Her pale face stared at him before giving a slight nod. Donnie nodded back.

"Okay. I'll be back in a little bit. I promise." He stood up after giving her forehead a quick kiss. She released his hand and automatically returned her gaze back to the turtle lying on the bed.

Donnie walked over to Raph and silently shut the door behind him before joining Mikey and Splinter in the living room. Casey and Apri had been gone for several hours, buying supplies for the next couple months.

Mikey was sitting on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his chin rested on his hands. He looked up at Donnie and Raph returning from visiting Jade.

"Anything?" He asked hopefully.

They both shook their heads, "She just sat there staring at him. The most I got was small nod when I asked her if she would eat something for me." Donnie sighed in defeat sitting down on the couch. He dropped his head into his palms.

"She hasn't said a word since…" Raph muttered, unable to go through with his sentence.

"She hasn't done _anything_." Donnie corrected, his hands muffling his words.

Splinter was kneeling in front of the fire. His shoulders were slumped, "Your sister is taking your brothers death unwell," His gravelly voice stated the obvious.

"Well, she was closest to Leo," Mikey mumbled, "We all know that."

"It is going to take time my sons. As it is for all of us," Master Splinter said sadly.


	20. Chapter 20

I was starving but at the same time, I wasn't really all that hungry. I didn't really feel anything actually. I was just numb.

I didn't remember standing up and walking to the side of the bed. One minute I was sitting in a chair and the next I was no farther than a foot away from Leonardo's body, clasping his cold hand.

There were a million things that ran through my head but the same line kept repeating somehow.

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

Then there were tears. I hadn't cried at all until now, not even right after Leo died. I was in pure shock after Master Splinter said he was dead. I couldn't cry. All I could do was stare at his lifeless body on that couch as everyone else, even Raph, bursted into tears.

My thoughts were cut off by a burning sensation in my hand. My right hand wasn't even the hand that I burned on the doorknob when Oroku Saki's dojo burned down. Instead of letting go of Leo's hand, I clamped down harder, using it as an anchor for the hellfire pain that rippled under my skin. Random jolts of extreme pain would feel like a punch in the stomach or a kick to the head.

It was at the moment that Raph opened the door. He saw me by the bedside and looked as though he was about to speak but one look at my pained face and he knew something was wrong.

"Jade?"

Then the pain began to slow down. My breath were heavy and each exhale exerted was more harsh than the last. I managed to turn my head in Raph's direction, confused with what had just happened before my legs gave out and my world went black.


	21. Chapter 21

My eyes snapped open. I couldn't breathe. I struggled to get an ounce of air in my lungs. I heaved and broke into a fierce fit of coughs.

A grip on my shoulder surprised me.

"Hey!"

Raph. I relaxed at the sight of him, abling myself to get my breathing under control. My brother looked relieved to see me awake but he rubbed my shoulder with his thumb awkwardly, like he was unsure of how to comfort me.

"Hey kiddo," He said warmly.

"Hey Raphie," I breathed out, smiling weakly. "What happened?"

Raph stood up and slid his hand over his head, "Ya passed out or somethin' after ya brought Leo back and I don't know, it's been like eight hours or somethin'."

I froze, "After I what?" I don't know if I heard that last part correctly or if I just heard what I would like to hear.

Raph's eyes snapped open after he realized what he'd just said, "Oh uh… That's right, you don't remember," He walked out of the room quickly.

My head was spinning. Did I hear that right?

 _After you brought Leo back._

My head turned to the bed Leo was lying on.

Where he was supposed to be lying on.

He wasn't there. The bed was a jumble of sheets and blankets but the distinguishable turtle was no longer there.

My legs swung over the side of the bed in a panic.

"Raph! What the hell happened to…" I began as started for the door to the main room but was cut off with a vaguely familiar individual opening the front door.

Leonardo stood in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear, "Looking for me?"

I stood in place, staring at my previously dead brother like he was death himself. It couldn't be. He was dead. This was just my imagination. The dead can't come back to the living and grin like the freaking Cheshire Cat.

Leo's grin died slightly but he kept a warm smile as he slowly walked toward me, but stopped as I took a step back. The turtle definitely looked like Leonardo. He had the same golden eyes. The same freckles the lightly speckled his shoulders and the same scratches on the top right corner of his plastron. Down to the very detail, this looked very much like my brother, but how can it be?

"This has to be a dream," I whispered.

Leo exhaled deeply with short shake of his head, his shoulders lowered with the air exerted from his lungs, "It's not a dream."

 _Yes it is. I'm imagining all of this. Leonardo is just an illusion._

"Sore wa watashi no imōutodesu."

Splinter had taught us all Japanese but only Leonardo and I had taken the time to learn it more fluently.

When we were younger and had first learned, Leo had began calling me _imōuto_. Little sister. I called him _ani_. Big brother. It was a trademark for a few years and then became a name we only used on special occasions.

I felt tears begin to form and Leo's grin returned.

I threw my arms around his neck and buried my head into his neck. He tightly returned the embrace, squeezing gently.

Beside us in the entryway was a crowd.

"It's a kodak moment." Mikey joked, earning a round of laughs and teary-eyes smiles.

 _Sore wa watashi no imōutodesu -_ It's me, little sister


	22. Chapter 22

I woke up hearing an agitated April yelling.

"Casey Jones! I just mopped this floor! Out! Out! " She swung a wet mop toward him.

Casey stood in the doorway with boots soaked in snow and slip. Sludgy footprints were clearly set down beside the doorway.

"Hey lady! Ya can't kick me outta here! This is my grandmother's house, it's mine!" He said. His voice was also raised but the little edge of worry was inevitable.

April had a glare that wasn't used often, but when it was, it was mostly used on Casey. The piercing "I'll kill you right now". It always worked.

Casey backed away, opening the door behind him, "Uh... I'll be outside if anyone needs me."

Splinter chuckled beside the fireplace and at the table, Donnie had paused from his tinkering on a toaster to watch April grumble her way into the kitchen.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched, "That was entertaining."

Donnie smirked at my wakening, "Look at who woke up after her long sixteen hour slumber. Morning sleeping beauty."

I grinned tiredly. It'd been two weeks since Leo came back from the dead but my sleep hadn't really returned. Not only because I can somehow reverse the circle of life but also of deep thoughts. The encounter with the Shredder was on my mind almost constantly. Our abandoned home and April's lost shop and apartment. It was all a bit overwhelming. Last night I passed out at random but I didn't think I would have such a long sleep.

"Hey Donnie," I stood, scratching my head. My eyes were still clearing up. "Where is everybody?"

He played around with the toaster in his hands. I didn't see a reason to ask why. Obviously something wasn't working and he was the turtle to fix it.

"Well, you know where Casey and April went. Mikey is probably wandering the woods…"

"Despite all instructions to stay near the house," Splinter grumbled irritably.

I grinned. _Typical._

"... And Leo and Raph are probably in the barn again."

 _Right._ Leo had lost his swords in his battle against the Shredder. Raph and him were now trying to make new pair with the steel in the barn. I wasn't so sure how it was going along but they were so engrossed with their work that they'd barely emerged from that domain of dust of and old hay. As much as I would like to be in the company of the two oldest brothers, their bonding time was pretty amazing and I didn't want to disturb that. It was rare seeing the two get along so well.

"I guess I'll go see where Mikey ran off too," I yawned as I slipped on a pair of boots and one of Casey's oversized crewnecks on.

"Knock him upside the head for me, will ya?" Donnie asked, his eyes returning to the appliance on the table.

I gave him a wave he never saw, "Gladly."

Casey wasn't far. Beside the porch with a hose pointed at his snowy boots. Was he really trying to clean his boots with a hose?

"You know that won't do very much right?" I said, leaning my arms on the wooden railing of the porch, "How about just taking the boots off before you come into the house?"

He glared at me for a moment, "Women. Who needs'em?" He mumbled, going back to washing his boots.

I shook my head with an amused smile and turned to the scenery. I had to admit, the snow _was_ pretty. There must had been a fresh snowfall the night before. White clung to every dead branch within view. It was very serene in this environment and the stillness was something I had began to enjoy. It was different from the Big Apple in so many ways. Sure, I loved the city and I wasn't sure if anything could beat the city skyline when it was lit up in the dead of night but I couldn't deny my growing love for the countryside either.

Though usually the countryside wasn't accompanied by the sound of loud, overdramatic crunching. Only one individual who did that.

"Mikey!" I said out loud.

To my left, a head popped out from the side of the house. An orange bandana and a bag of what was probably Raph's leftover pistachios. Mikey waved and turned to Casey who joined him. I stayed on the porch and leaned over the railing at the two below me. Mikey held the bag up to me but when I shook my head, he held it out to Casey.

"Nut?" He asked.

Casey chuckled, "You're the nut. Hey, where ya been all morning?"

"Just wandering the woods," Mikey replied with a mouthful of pistachios.

"Even though Sensei wanted us to stay by the farmhouse," I eyed him.

Mikey shrugged, "I wasn't bothering anyone!"

Casey poked his plastron, "Oh ya? Well I got news for ya nature boy, Crazy man Hatchet a couple miles over… He likes wandering those woods too."

Mikey nodded his head quickly, standing more upright, "Tell me about it!" He exclaimed. "He sticked his pitbull on me this morning!"

I probably would have choked on a pistachio if I had taken one, "He saw you?"

Casey threw his arms up, "For cryin' out loud Mikey! Even _I_ know we're supposed to be keepin' a low profile up here!"

Mikey leaned back against the side of the house, "Relax! No one saw me! I'm a ninja remember? Low Profile is my middle name."

I rolled my eyes, "That's debatable."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering, I let a silence dawn out. I knew Mikey hated it and to make it worse for him, I didn't even answer his question, "You know those are Raph's pistachios right?"

Before my brother could answer, I turned at the sound of a vehicle driving on the fresh snow. April was in the house and Casey was right in front of me so who was driving down the driveway?

A black van. Hooked up to a large metal trailer, it pulled up right to the front of the farmhouse. Mikey ducked and inched back to the side of the whole Casey and I greeted our unknown, uninvited guest.

The van had a large, bolder ' _MH'_ printed on the sliding door. I swore I'd seen that label before but I cousins quite put my tongue on it. I was sure I heard the name, I'd know it.

A lady, at least I thought it was a lady, jumped out of the passenger seat. She seemed to take no notice of Casey and I staring at her. Her bright green hair clashed with her thick glasses and her arms were almost animalistic. She may as well have been a bodybuilder.

"This place is perfect," The exclaimed to herself. "Let's do this Parker!"

I don't know why it took me so long. Her appearance should had been enough. This was Doctor Abigail Finn. Genius woman all around but not quite right in the head if those two qualities could somehow fit together. She had her own television show called _Monster Hunter_ and it was probably the one of the most unsuccessful shows there was.

An intercom outside the van spoke, I assumed it was the man Abigail had called 'Parker', " _Affirmative Doc. Activating sorti cam, now."_

I remembered watching an episode of the show with Donnie. She had her own techy side like my brother and created her own camera crew. Orbed cameras that had a large lens on the front and red rotors on top. It was like a tiny helicopter. If I remembered correctly, she called them 'Sortis'.

 _"We're rolling in three, two, one."_

A Sorti hovered a few feet in front of Abigail. She turned and put on an excited grin.

"Welcome adventure seekers to another action packed episode of the Monster Hunters!" She exclaimed. "Once again, I, Doctor Abigail Finn am close to bagging a mysterious creature. The Green Man of the woods!"

Well that solved the mystery of _why_ she was here. I rolled my eyes but had to use my sheer will not to turn back and give Mikey a glare.

"Excuse me, this is private property," I spoke up after exchanging a glance with Casey.

Either Abigail ignored or she was too engrossed with herself to notice, she didn't stop, "... You all know the Yeti, Sasquatch and Bigfoot…"

Casey finally stepped up, placing his hand in front of the camera, "Okay! Stop the camera!

Abigail took Casey by the arm and pinned it behind his back. It was all in an instant and it took both Casey and I by surprise.

"Sir? What can you tell our viewers about the sightings of the Green Man?" She asked him excitedly.

I stepped down from the porch and swatted the Sorti aside. It fell to the ground but as if it was a dog, it shook itself and rose back into the air again,"This is private property lady. There is no Green Man and I will kindly ask you to leave!" I pointed down the road.

She laughed and released, There's a monster out there! And I've got proof!" She turned toward the van. "Parker! Roll the tape!"

 _"Coming right up doc."_

The 'MH' on the side of the van flipped and was replaced with a large television screen. The video that was played was blurry but there was a distinguishable figure walking through the woods.

It was Michelangelo and he won idiot of the century.

Abigail turned back to me, "Are you sure there's nothing in those woods?"

There was a tone of 'I told you so' in her voice. I didn't like it. Call me a hypocrite but I didn't like when anybody used an attitude with me.

"You need to leave. I don't care if there's something in those woods or not. You're trespassing and I will call the police if you don't leave right now," I tried to keep my calm. I spoke evenly and it was quite an accomplishment if I ever said so myself.

Abigail didn't flinch, "Exactly _what_ are you trying to hide?" She then grabbed the collar of my crew neck with both of her hands and slammed me up against the side of the van.

"I'm not _hiding_ anything! You can't waltz up here without permission dumbass," I yelled in her face, resulting in a tightened grip. Not only was she trespassing, now she assaulting and that wouldn't look too great on her resume.

"You're a feisty one. Why are you being so protective?" She spat.

 _Protective?_

My head rushed forward and connected with her nose. Her grip was released but just for own kicks, she also received a punch to her lower jaw. She sparked a look of surprise with how much power I was able to put behind both strikes.

Casey grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me aside. More behind him as he took a step in front of me in a protective manner that reminded me of my brothers. I could consider Casey an older brother as we've grown rather close over the few months and he knew well that I was fully capable of taking care of myself but I couldn't help but find it rather admiring that he thought of me as a younger sister.

"She's right, lady. You need to leave."

A hated confliction heated up in Abigail's eyes. She knew wasn't supposed to be here but she was too stubborn to follow her better judgement, "Not until that monster has been captured. It belongs to science."

"If there was anything in those woods, then it would _belong_ in those woods. It's not the center of your 6th grade science project," I frowned, "I'm sure there's plenty of frogs to dissect down the road."

Abigail's jaw tightened, her mouth opened to answer but then closed. Even though I could see she wasn't going to argue, I knew she wasn't going to leave either. Not for good. Her reputation didn't call for an easy defeat.

"Parker!" She opened the passenger side door of the van and in moments, the van disappeared the down the driveway.

"Good riddance," I muttered.

"She's not really leaving is she?" Casey kept his eyes down the road.

I shook my head and accompanied it with a heavy sigh, "No, because our lives just can't be that easy, can they?"

"So… We need to keep a low profile then?"

I turned for the house with an annoyed roll of my eyes, "Wasn't that the point of coming up here?"

Mikey was already inside when I opened the front door. April was by the window and Donnie was hovering over her shoulder. Master Splinter was still kneeled at the base of the fireplace but was no longer in a meditative state.

"You just spoke to Doctor Abigail Finn," Donnie had an excited sparkle in his eyes.

I seated myself on the couch, "Don't remind me."

"Who exactly is she?" Casey asked, planting himself beside me.

Both Donne and April turned to him in shock.

"She's a brilliant technologist!" April exclaimed.

"And a gifted biologist. She goes around hunting _monsters_ ," Donnie added.

"She sounds like your guys type, brainiacs. Has she ever found any?" Mikey commented.

"No, but the way she was drooling over that video tape of you, you may get to be her first," Donnie replied with a look.

"Then I say we go after that video tape!" Mikey said to all of us.

Casey crossed his arms, "Maybe that crazy doctor, monster person will just give up and go away?" He suggested hopefully.

"Doctor Abigail Finn doesn't give up," Donnie replied. "If she doesn't find what she's looking for out there, she'll come looking _in here_ ," He gestured the house. "She's obsessed with monster hunting!"

Master Splinter cleared his throat, "Those who become obsessed are often their own worst enemy."

Cheery.


	23. Chapter 23

I felt a chill speed up spine. I didn't entirely enjoy crouching in snowy bushes. Donnie, Mikey, and I were spying. It was really boring spying since Abigail Finn was just tinkering around with unoperational Sorti's and Parker was just hanging out on top of the trailer with his hands in some electric panel.

As all predictions had predicted, Abigail and Parker didn't really leave. They just parked themselves down the road and out of view of the farmhouse. To my frustration, my family had to be careful about their time outside the walls of the farmhouse and barn. With the hawk-like eyes of Abigail and the constant Sorti's flying about, it was becoming difficult for them to go about unknown. Leo was still recovering. We needed more time before we could try heading back to New York.

Doctor Abigail Finn needed to leave.

"The Green Man is close Parker, I can sense it! My ticket to the big time! The scientific community will no longer be able to laugh behind my back and our little cable access show will finally be able to get a network deal!" She said excitedly as her grip on one of the Sortis was so tight, that she dented the metal with her fingers.

"Should've been a bodybuilder," I muttered to Mikey, who nodded in agreement.

"Uh… Right," Abigail threw the mutilated Sorti behind her. "Parker! How does the chiro containment chamber check out?"

Parker gave her a thumbs up, "Aces doc."

He clicked on a button on the top of the trailer with his remote and the door of the trailer opened up along with another set of doors. The inside was a cage, full bars and everything. I cringed.

"Excellent. Then I'll send out the Sorti cams," Abigail clicked a button on what looked like a small GPS. The Sorti cams on the table flew up and away from her. "Parker! Man the console!"

I was a little uneasy as she grabbed a large gun from the side of the van. A blaster of some sort.

"Let the hunt begin!" She cried, chasing after the Sortis.

We watched as Parker got back into the van.

Mikey found a stick that could fit through the door handle and he began to wander toward the open trailer.

"Wouldn't it make more sense if the tape was inside the van?" I asked, wandering to the side of the van where Abigail had shown Casey and I the video of Mikey in the woods.

"Most likely," Donnie replied.

"Now if I were a video tape, where would I be?" Mikey's voice echoes from inside the trailer.

"Not in there dipwit," I rolled my eyes.

"Mikey get out of there!" Donnie whispered loudly, climbing inside to pull Mikey by the arm. "For all we know this could be a…"

Buzzers sounded and the doors quickly shut behind my brothers.

"... Trap." Donnie finished.

"Um… Oops?" Mikey muttered.

I ran to the doors and grasped the bars but quickly had to let go. They were cold as ice. Inside, thick smoke appeared like the inside of the trailer was a giant fog machine.

"Is it getting really cold in here, or is it just me?" Mikey asked frantically after a few moments.

"It's liquid nitrogen! Instant deep freeze!" Donnie shouted, rubbing his arms.

I started looking for some kind of handle or button on the outside of the trailer. The smoke made _me_ begin to shiver slightly and I wasn't even inside.

"Hey! I'm a turtle! I'm already cold blooded," Mikey shouted back.

"You'll be ice blooded if we don't get out of here!" Donnie exclaimed, rubbing his arms more frantically now.

Both him and Mikey started for the door, hitting it in hopes that it's hinges would magically come unlatched. The trailer was pure steel, there was no way.

"Finding anything Jade?" Donnie's voice was shattering.

I looked back through the bars, "There's nothing!"

"We've got 15 seconds before we become turtle-sicles!" Donnie cried.

Mikey fell to his knees, "My butt is getting freezer burned!

I turned my eyes to the two tanks inside the trailer. Maybe that was where the liquid nitrogen was coming from? "Donnie!"

Donnie glanced over at them, "Genius."

He took his bo staff and put it between the tank and the wall. I let go and stood back as I heard Donnie shout, "M-Mikey… Now! The d-door!"

I stepped back as they both jumped and kicked the door open. Ice flew in shards along with the busted doors.

Mikey put his hands to his head, "B-b-brain freeze!" He stammered.

"We need to get out here!" I said, earning a quick approval from my brothers as they darted into the trees.

I stuck behind for a moment. Just as I stepped behind the thick foliage, Abigail appeared in series of heavy breaths. Anger twisted on her face when she saw the open containment chamber. I found her frustration rather satisfying. I felt a grin form on my lips as I headed for the farmhouse where Donnie and Mikey were already wrapped in warm blankets. They huddled in front of the fireplace, shivering manically.

Casey was stood over my brothers, chuckling to himself, "I can't believe you two bozos walked right into a trap."

I flopped down on the couch beside Master Splinter, "I believe it," Both of us said at the same time. Sensei gave me a sideways smirk.

"All I know is that it's a good thing the Green Man isn't real," Donnie said. "If that Doctor Finn ever got her hands him... Sheesh!"

"Hey that's it!" Mikey stood up quickly, "Little miss monster hunter is still out there hunting the Green Man right? Well, we'll give her some!"

I scrunched my eyebrows, "And how do you suppose we do that?"

Mikey grinned, "I have a plan."


	24. Chapter 24

"Mikey, this is your plan?" Donnie asked exasperatedly.

"Ya, Mikey, these leaves itch!" Casey cried while scratching his what he could of his skin.

"Gee. It's been like five whole minutes since you last complained, Casey," I said, earning a rough push.

Casey happened to have an old gilly suits folded up in a closet, explaining that his old man and his buddies used these woods during hunting season back in the day. Out of all the things left behind, it was pure luck that those suits were forgotten. The boys slipped these on… they weren't really "green monsters" but we could work with it. I was thankful that I had the easy job in this plan- to get the videotape of Mikey.

"Come on, you look great!" Mikey led Donnie and Casey to a small clearing.

I shook my head with a cringe, " You guys look ridiculous."

"I _feel_ ridiculous," Donnie muttered with a small pout. I gave him a sympathetic pat on the shell.

It was then I heard a distant yell.

"Parker! The Sortis have a signal... No, two...No... Four signals!" It was Abigail, "Is the containment chamber repaired?"

I turned quickly for the trees as my brothers and Casey all headed in a separate direction. To make things more easier for all of us, I also had to take down the Sortis we knew she would have hovering over her head.

"We'll herd them to you," I heard Abigail's voice say, closer than before.

I found a tree that could suffice for a vantage point. By the time I climbed to the high branches, Abigail had stepped into the clearing. Her gun was at the ready but she took her time to kneel down to the clear footprints left behind by my brothers and Casey. I was thankful I had stayed more on the edge of the clearing. My tracks weren't quite as visible though I did curse myself for not being more careful.

I caught a glimpse of one of my companions in the bushes, rattling the leaves purposely. Abigail shifted quickly, ready for the large figure that jumped out.

"Gongola! Gongola!"

I shook my head in annoyance. _Moron._

I cringed at the gun pointed at Casey. I was more than hopeful that she didn't have bullets but I wasn't sure what to expect. I could only sigh in relief when it was just a net that blasted out of the barrel.

"I've got one! Parker! Alert the media! I want a press conference at dawn. By then I'll have the other two."

Mikey had then taken an opportunity to pick up a large log and throw it in the woman's direction. Abigail barely evaded it. Donnie glanced at me, a sure indication to head for the van. I nodded.

As I started to climb down, I noticed Abigail press some kind of button on her wristwatch. The two Sorti's that had been hovering over her now began to pursue Donnie. They caught up to him easily and shocked him. The gilly suit was no barrier to stop such painful jolts of electricity. Pain erupted from my brother's lips and I immediately ditched the plan. Forget the videotape, that could wait for now. I climbed down from the tree, pulling two shurikens from my belt. The blades hit their marks accurately. The Sortis were on the ground in a mess of sparked wires.

Donnie was heaving on the ground. He looked up at me and smiled through painful gritted teeth, "Thanks sis."

I was about to answer until I heard a click behind me. I didn't need to turn to know what exactly it was.

"I knew you were hiding something girl! Stand aside so I can capture that incredible specimen!" Abigail yelled at me, eyes blazing behind her round glasses.

I kept my stance but turned to face her, "I'm not going to do that, Abigail."

Her thumb aggressively rubbed over a switch on her gun. I could only assume it was no longer a net that would leave the barrel if she pulled the trigger, "I don't want to have to do this, but I will if you make me."

"Jade," Donnie whispered, a warning I was already aware of. I didn't acknowledge it.

Abigail spoke into the headset wrapped around her cheek, "Parker. Send more Sortis!"

I put my hands up in a defensive gesture, "Is killing someone really worth your television network?"

"I _need_ him," She countered, taking a step forward. I felt my heart begin to speed up.

"For what? Science? They would lose their own freedom and would become test subjects in some horrible lab," I said, trying to be reasonable. _And I would know what that feels like._ "What kind of life is that?"

She curled her lip with her finger tightening on the trigger, "That's not for you to chose. Monsters don't belong in the wild. They're dangerous and they will kill you without blinking. So I'll ask you again, to step aside," Abigail's voice had a dangerous tone but I wasn't just going to let her have her way. Not with my families life on the line.

"Funny coming from the lady with a gun pointed at my head," I watched her glance at her weapon. "The only monster I see is you, Abigail."

Donnie cleared his throat softly. He knew I wasn't going to move. He wouldn't either if the roles were reversed. There was no way we were getting out of this without either getting shot or letting Donnie get taken.

I had a sudden urge and I wasn't sure where it came from. My hands were still outstretched in front of me but instead of keeping them in a defensive gesture, I flipped my palms and began to close my fingers into a tight fist. The gun in Abigail's hand immediately dented and shriveled. It depressed in itself. Abigail gasped and dropped the weapon.

"What... What the hell?" She stuttered, backing up.

Donnie took the opportunity to stand up and make a growling animal sound. Without a weapon or any physical object to defend herself, Abigail retreated and left my brother and I behind without a single thought about it.

I glanced at my hand as Donnie pulled the leaf suit off and wandered to Abigail's abandoned gun.

My head was pounding. A hammer to my skull.

"I don't know what in the world you just did it was incredible!" My brother reported excitedly, "You telekinetically broke her blaster!"

My vision began to go blurry and the hammering in my head started to become unbearable.

"Jade?"

My hands lifted and took ahold of my temples just as my knees gave out. I felt the cold snow through my pants but I could've cared less. Why was my head killing me?

"Jade!" A moment after he yelled my name, I felt his hands take my shoulders. "Hey! What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "I don't know," I said behind my gritted teeth.

"Take a few deep breaths." He said, keeping a grip on my shoulders. I did as he said. It took a few minutes, but the pain eventually subsided. Donnie lifted my chin up and cringed slightly. "Your nose is bleeding."

I wiped my finger under my nostrils and sure enough, there was blood dripping out of it,

"I'm okay." I said, wiping the blood with the sleeve of my black crewneck.

"You sure?" He asked, still in a worried tone.

I held the sleeve of my crew neck under my nose, "Ya."

"How did you do that?" Donnie wandered for the gun again. He kneeled, tracing his finger over the sharp, dented edges.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I just kind of… Did it."

There was a moment of silence and then Donnie spoke, "Is this kind of like what happened at Stockman's? When you imploded that turret gun?"

I remembered those giant machines hanging from the ceiling of Stockman's main lab. I definitely remembered accidentally taking one out with the wave of my hand. That was all it was, accidental. This time just felt different. This time I just felt compelled to close my fist. How would I have known the Abigail's gun would crumple up like that? Really, I didn't but perhaps it was something more instinctual. If that was the case, why was all this starting up now? How come I couldn't do anything like this in the past?

"I, uh… I'm not really sure," It was an honest answer but I didn't feel like elaborating right now. I needed it to sink in a little more that I had some telekinetic powers. I didn't really think about it too much after Stockmans.

Donnie fumed, "Well… Let's talk about it later. Right now we should find Mikey and Casey."

I could do later.

Mikey and Casey weren't far off, still in the clearing we had left them earlier in fact. Though, Mikey was no longer in his Bigfoot-looking suit and Casey was no longer wrapped in netting.

"Jade?" Mikey asked when he saw Donnie and I approaching. He wiped his finger across his beak, "You okay?"

I nodded. There must have been dried blood under my nose, "Abigail threw a good one."

Donnie glanced at me, a bit surprised with the lie but he said nothing to argue about it.

Mikey didn't seem to catch it, "She got ya back then? You're getting pretty rusty."

I smirked, "I _let_ her."

Mikey's eyes suddenly went wide, as did Caseys. I wonder if my nose had started bleeding again but when I put my finger underneath, I felt nothing.

"Guys... Right behind you."

I wasn't sure what to expect when I turned. Perhaps Abigail or one of her Sorti's but with the clear shaking in my brothers voice, it couldn't have been either.

I knew though, that I didn't expect an actual _green_ monster.

"The Green Man? He's real?" Donnie gulped in disbelief.

The animal growled and started walking toward us, it's nose sniffing frantically. Donnie inched in front of me in a more protective manner but I wasn't sure that the Green Man had its eyes set on us. It took a quick wiff as it passed by but didn't break stride. Mikey kept incredibly still as the incredible animal came to eye level, starting with his head and moving down his body until stopping it's nose at my brothers hip. It found what it'd been looking for.

"Oh, you like pistachios?" Mikey untied the bag from his waistband. "Here ya go."

A deep purring was followed as the animals muzzles disappeared into the bag.

"What a good Green Man you are... Yes, what a good green monster!" Mikey grinned and looked up at Donnie, Casey and I, "Can we keep him?"

Donnie and I released the tension in our muscles. The Green Man seemed to be a gentle creature and as needy as any regular house pet when there was food nearby. Though I had to admit its entire structure seemed a bit uncoordinated. It stood on four paws but its hind legs were as tall as knee down on me. It's back curved and reminded me a bit of an Igor while it's front legs were massive and built. They were a foot or two taller than I was and broad in all spectrums. And the head, well, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had a small brain. It's skull was puny.

"It's kind of cute," I elbowed Donnie.

The nuts were gone in a matter of seconds and the giant animal nudged Mikey's hand in a plea for more.

"Green looks good on him," Donnie chuckled, eyeing the creature curiously.

Then it was like a light switch. The animal backed up in a sharp movement, growling and shaking its head. It turned wild. Mikey and Casey jumped back and Donnie pulled me back by the arm as the Green Man swung its arms violently before standing on its hind legs and began banging it's fists against its chest like a gorilla.

The culprit of the animals sudden outburst was obvious as soon as Donnie pointed them out. Sorti's.

"They're frightening him!"

Like they had done to Donnie earlier, the Sorti's zapped the animal in quick intervals. Why the Sorti's only electrocuted the Green Man and not my brothers or Casey, I didn't know. The intention of the little devices became apparent as they followed the Green Man out of the clearing.

"They're leading him to the containment chamber!" I yelled, tearing off after the animal.

Casey and my brothers were at my heels, following the pained cries of The Green Man all the way to the containment chamber, where Donnie stopped me from breaking through the treeline as the giant animal was forced into the trailer. A last zap from the Sorti's and the doors quickly shut. It was done.

"No..." Mikey breathed.

My mind ran. Something needed to be done.

"We can't leave him in there," I whispered.

"No, we can't. But what would we do? We let him go and Abigail will jet after him again," Donnie bummed, his eyes momentarily meeting mine.

I turned back to Casey with a questioning expression.

"What?" He asked, beginning to grimace as a small smile grew on my lips.

"I think… I think I have an idea."


	25. Chapter 25

I sat on the steps of the porch beside Donatello watching as Mikey burned the videotape of himself we'd taken from Abigail.

"At least Abigail is out of her monster hunting business with the network. Your plan was kind of genius. The news will be making fun of her for months," Donnie said with a deep breath.

It wasn't entirely my plan but to keep it short, I distracted Parker while Donnie slipped inside the van, grabbed the videotape and opened the containment chamber. Mikey led the Green Man into the woods and Casey took the animal's spot. News reporters arrived a couple hours later, cameras locked onto the back of the trailer where Abigail had been excitedly announcing the capture of what she had _thought_ was the Green Man. All in all, Casey did well in making Abigail look like a complete fool.

"And somehow, I don't think she'll give up so easily. Even after making her look like an _idiot_ on live television… She'll keep hunting," I said, "She's crazy."

"She almost killed you," Donnie raised a brow with a stern expression.

I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. Yes, Abigail had me at gunpoint and frankly, I don't ever remember being on the wrong end of the barrel like I had hours earlier. She stood ten feet from me, ready to pull the trigger and _kill,_ just to get her hands on Donnie who she _thought_ was her infamous Green Man. My brother wasn't the real animal, but that would have made no difference to Abigail. My family was different and different was always a dangerous term in this screwed up, muddled world. Different attracted the wrong kind of people, people like Abigail. People like the Foot and the Shredder. Different can get you killed. That's why April and Casey were so rare. Friends my family and I could depend on with no worries of them showing the outside world what kind of creatures existed underneath the streets. I knew there were hundreds of Abigail's out there, all would want to get their grimy hands on my family. So _yes_ , I was going to stand in front of that gun. I would have taken a bullet because that's what I promised myself the very night Splinter took me in. My family came before me.

"She would have taken you," I turned to him with a frown.

My brothers eyes softened and he looked down at the ground, "I suppose I messed up on that one."

"It wasn't like you tried to get shocked Don," I sighed. "It was a like a… Miscalculation."

"Miscalculation? You could have _died,_ Jade. Abigail had her finger on the trigger and we both know she adjusted it so that there wasn't a net leaving that barrel. What if she pulled that trigger before you could do anything?"

Donatello was ashamed. I could see that clearly.

"Donnie, there's nothing wrong with the younger having to protect the older sometimes," I watched my brothers brows furrow slightly. "It's what family does, you know?" Especially ours. We risk our lives every time we step out of the lair and we end up saving each other like… A dozen times a day."

It was an exaggeration but it was damn near close. It's what we did all the time and it took Donnie a moment to understand that I was right.

"I suppose… I owe you a thanks then?" He turned a small smile.

I grinned, "I mean, I guess if _really_ want to."

My brother rolled his eyes, his lips turning upwards more, "Thanks, Jade."

The top of my head nuzzled under his chin and I could feel Donnie pull away with laughter vibrating in his throat, "Anything for you big brother."

At that moment, coincidentally, Mikey turned around and "Awwed" the sight though he seemed completely unaware of the conversation leading up to it. It was then that the front door of the farmhouse opened. April and Splinter joined us just as Casey came down the driveway finally stripped of his Green Man suit. He still had dirt and grime spread evenly on his skin, especially his face.

"Did you guys see that?" He called as he got closer, "They're gonna be making fun of Abigail for months!"

"Outstanding performance Jones. Ya really knocked them dead," I clapped, almost sarcastically.

"A lot of the news stations are making Abigail look like a joke," April leaned her shoulder against the mast of the porch.

Donnie turned over his shoulder, "That's because she is."

"So Mikey," I switched my attention to the orange banded turtle who had just finished burning the tape, "when you have rules about keeping a low profile next time, are you actually going to follow them?"

Mikey peeked over his shoulder with a sinister grin, an answer that didn't need to be spoken. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but break into a short chuckle.

"I should hope so Michelangelo," Splinter said with a furry brow raised.

"Oh, uh… Ya. Of course, Sensei." My brothers response wasn't very reassuring but I couldn't expect anything less from him. It _was_ Mikey after all.

"Did you really just ask Mikey if he was going to follow the rules?" Donnie asked without any hint of surprise.

I shrugged, "I can dream, can't I?"

He groaned, "Dream harder."

"Hey guys," A new voice broke the conversation. Leo and Raph came around the side of the farmhouse.

In Leo's hands was the pair of time consuming katanas that had been keeping both brothers MIA from the Abigail incident the entire day. But damn, I think it was worth it, "Woah! You guys made those?"

Raph nodded, "Not too bad, huh?"

Leo held up one of the katanas unsheathed in front of us. Almost perfect. Imperfections were minimal.

"Maybe you should both quit being ninja's and be blacksmiths," I grinned.

"Nice try," Leo murmured gratefully as he sheathed the sword. There was a short moment of silence that followed. I could sense that Leo was going to say more, "You guys… I think it's time we went back to New York. To finish what the Shredder started."

I didn't think there was even a moment of thought put into it. Everyone nodded. We'd been gone for far too long.

It was time to go home.


	26. Chapter 26

The next few hours back to New York were as brutal as when we came up to the farmhouse. The middle of December, it was freezing of course. We needed a better way to travel or Casey needed to insulate this stupid trailer.

I shared a blanket with Donnie again and we both decided to tell the our brothers and Splinter what happened with Abigail's gun.

"So is this kinda like what happened at Stockmans with the machines that were shootin' at us?" Raph asked. He had a confused expression set with a pair of tight lips. I knew he wasn't really on board with all my mojo. Not that he was against it, he just didn't understand it. Not that any of us, including me, did.

I nodded, "Kind of."

"So you got techno mojo. You can bring people back from the dead. You can..." Mikey started to count on his three fingered hand.

"You're faster than humans should be, and stronger. Your entire genetic structure must be enhanced in some way. Stronger bones and stronger muscles. I mean, considering how much larger we are compared to you and how much strength we have due to mutagenic embellishments in our own genetic structures, you hold your own. During sparring? I could probably count a dozen times off the top of my head that you should have broken a bone or gotten some kind of serious injury from us but your body is strong enough to handle it. It's not normal for any regular human," Donnie said, "Even from your first few years with us. Something was different."

It was all true, the sparring matches. My brothers played rough. We were competitive and sometimes things could get nasty. I was more than capable of taking a hit and walking away with nothing more than a small bruise.

"And you heal pretty quickly. I mean, that shoulder wound you had is already gone," Leo pointed out.

Also true. My injuries from the night of Shredder's attack and the fire at his dojo were completely healed in a matter of days. Now only scars remained.

"Not that I'm not thankful for all of that but I just want to know why I'm like this," I muttered.

"You don't like it? I'd be cool with having a bunch of cool super powers!" Mikey said excitedly.

"I know I appreciate them," Leo had a thankful smile on his face.

I returned the small smile back, "Well, ya, I like them but I want to know how I got them. Why, when, where I got them, who did it to me. I mean not just any human is going to randomly start having superpower symptoms, you know?"

Master Splinter held up his hand slightly, "I believe that you already know who gave them to you and when," He said softly.

I thought about it. _Of course._

"Stockman. Oroku Saki. I remember the experiments when I just a little girl. Before you found me in the sewers."

He nodded, "The warehouse you described that they held you in was where it may have happened as well."

"They are so gonna pay for what they did to you. We all know they did more than experiments," Raph growled.

 _My scars._ I winced at the thought.

"There's still so much I don't know though," My head dropped on wall of the trailer behind me, "There's more questions than answers."

"I have a feeling we'll be finding out sooner rather than later," Leo mumbled.

I wasn't sure what to think about that.

We all sat in a comfortable silence the rest of the way home. I fell asleep with my arms tightly wrapped around Donnie's arm and my head against his shoulder.


	27. Chapter 27

I was always impressed by what Donatello could accomplish with the junk lying around in our home and a little wiring. Back when we first moved in, he somehow managed to disguise a regular looking pipe to be a sort of lever. Pull it down from the ceiling and lair door would slide open. Genius really.

"I told you the Foot wouldn't find this place!" Donnie exclaimed proudly as we stepped foot into our home for the first time in nearly a month.

Mikey headed straight for the kitchen and pulled out several bags of chips from the cupboards, "Thank god! I didn't know how much longer I could go without my babies."

Casey held a look on the orange banded turtle that was completely judgemental.

Mikey then set the bags on the counter and opened up the fridge. Grabbing a jug of milk, he began to chug it. It would have been a bit entertaining had I not realized how long that jug had been sitting in the fridge. We had it _long_ before the Shredder incident.

"Mikey... Isn't that milk like super old?" I asked. The liquid was spilling down my brothers cheeks in fat streams. I was sure more of it was actually on him than actually going down his throat.

After my comment, he immediately stopped chugging, "That explains all the chunks!" He gagged, spitting out the milk in the sink.

Casey and I both exchanged a disgusted look, "Gross," We muttered.

Raph slid the dojo door open and peeked inside, probably making sure his most prized punching bag was still untouched, "I just don't get it. The last time we were down here, there were Foot goons searchin' everywhere us. Why would Shredder just send'em all home?"

I strained my neck on my shoulders, cringing at a few cracks that popped underneath my skin, "Well… We're supposed to be dead. I mean, April's apartment blew up and we _supposedly_ blew up with it. Maybe they think there's no one left to search for?" I shrugged.

Raph thought about it, "Ya know… bein' dead could have it's advantages."

"Ya…" Leo put his fist to his chin thoughtfully, "It might just give us the element of surprise."

Mikey leisurely walked back into the living room, crunching his potato chips as loudly as he possibly could, "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

Donnie spun the chair he sat on and pointed questioningly at both Leo and Raph, "I think he's thinking what you both think he's thinking."

Raph looked over at Mikey. "If he's thinkin' what I'm thinkin', then I'm thinkin' we shouldn't just be thinkin'," He then glanced at the dumbfounded Casey. "What are you thinkin'?"

Casey shrugged, pretending he understood what everyone had just said, "Uh... Uh huh?"

I rolled my eyes.

Master Splinter stood the foot of the stairs, "I agree with Jade. Shredder believes we have vanquished at the explosion at April's. Thus leaving them vulnerable to a surprise attack."

Leo scrunched his forehead in a strategic kind of way, "If we're going to do this. We need to find out everything we can about Foot headquarters."

Donnie turned to the station of many computers behind him, I'm not sure that I could hack into the security system. It was designed by Baxter Stockman himself!"

April leaned over his shoulder with a sly grin, "Too bad you don't know anyone who used to work for Baxter Stockman."

Donnie stopped his typing and mirrored the grin. He instantly got off the chair and twirled it for April to take. She cracked her knuckles and started typing like her life depended on it. Even with as good as April was, it would probably still take awhile to hack firewalls and blah blah blah. All that junky talk stuff that I really didn't understand.

I let my mind wander in the meantime. My feet shuffled below me until I found myself beside a table that was alone in the back corner of the living room. The Sword of Tengu sat in a lonely heap on top, just where I left it. What was this things deal? Shredder wanted it for something but what could that possibly be?

Splinter was beside me minutes later. He was quiet and he seemed have his mind just as lost as I did until he spoke up, "My daughter, I think the time is coming to return the sword to it's former owner."

I breathed coolly. Yes, it was. But there was still a feeling deep inside me that dreaded this expedition altogether.

"You're fearful?" Splinter eyed me. It was more of a statement than a question.

I nodded slowly, "Last time we faced the Shredder, we all barely made it out alive. Leo was murdered. This mission is huge but we're going into dangerous territory. I'm afraid we may not come out of it in one piece."

I noticed a flicker in my father's eyes. A flash of his own fear.

"I have thought much about this. Our last encounter was fatal but I believe we were unprepared. We underestimated the Shredder's strength and power, and we were not together as one," He said, "You and Leonardo were not within the same pool. There was anger and disappointment on your behalf and there was guilt and regret on his. In order for this mission to work, we must all bond together. If not, I believe our efforts will be wasted completely."

In a sense, he was right. I didn't want to think it was just Leo and I's fight that got in the way but one little tangle in our relationship seemed to get us both nearly killed.

I nodded understandingly, "Maybe him and I should talk about some things before we leave."

Splinter smiled gently, "That may be a good idea."

I turned to see Leo zoning out at the foot of the stairs. He faced Donnie and April at the computers but he was paying no attention to them. The deep frown on his lips was concerning. This look on him wasn't usual and I had feeling he was thinking about many things, especially about the Shredder. I wanted to talk to him now but there was a shout. Donnie was clapping his hands triumphantly.

"We're in! We're in!"

April grinned, "We had to use three different dictionary attack method programs to crack the encryption algorithm."

"Then it was just a matter of creating a dummy account and installing a remote access Trojan Horse."

April and Donnie gave each other a high five.

"Thrilling," Mikey muttered sarcastically.

"So what can you find out?" Leo asked, "Can you get us inside?"

"Never mind that, can ya get us to Shredder?" Raph grudges flatly.

April nodded and turned back to the screen. Her finger pointed to the blueprint she pulled up on screen, "Getting inside is easy. Getting to Shredder… Difficult but doable."

Donnie slid his finger along the screen between every level of flooring shown on the blueprint, "What concerns me is everything in between."

April tapped a couple keys, "I can coordinate the computer systems from this end."

Leo nodded approvingly, "Great. We'll have Casey stay here. Just in case."

Casey looked extremely disappointed not to be joining us in this mission but he seemed to understand why he was staying behind.

"April and I will take look at the schematics more in depth. We'll figure out the best way to get inside," Donnie glanced at Leo for approval, who nodded.

"In the meantime, I want everyone getting as much rest as possible. We leave tomorrow night."

There was a low mumble of agreement before everyone filed to do their own choice of things. I noted Leonardo sharing a few words with Splinter before he turned for the stairs, presumably heading for his room.

"Hey Leo!" I called.

My brother turned, surprised to see me catching up with him, "What's up?"

I took a breath, this was going to be fun, "Do you want to go for a walk? I think we have so things we should talk about."


	28. Chapter 28

With the lack of Foot ninja's in the sewer, it was safe for Leo and I to walk freely without any fear of ambush. At first, we were silent. Not an uncomfortable silence but not entirely adequate. We were never usually like this. Even after weeks of four weeks, my brother and I were still on the edge of a knife. Our relationship wasn't completely rebuilt and until we sorted through the fight we had the day before our battle with the Shredder, we wouldn't be able to get through this new mission any cleaner.

It was just a matter of where to start.

I glanced up quickly. Leo had a frown on his face and the same deep thought expression he had earlier.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

He seemed to find himself again. Clarity filled his cloudy eyes, "What do you mean?"

I gave him a look, "You had your thinking face on."

Leo shrugged, "I've been thinking about a lot of things."

Was that all I was going to get? He was trying to tiptoe around my questions.

"You know you can tell me Leo."

There was a deep breath inhaled and I was sure there was a ting of annoyance but I surprised he answered at all. Except he didn't answer the questions, "Why are we out here Jade?"

I shoved my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants, "You know why."

"I thought we moved passed this already."

"It doesn't seem like we did."

Another silence. He knew I was right. There was never this much open space between the two of us. Sure, there was a happy reunion after I had somehow brought him back from the dead but we hadn't had a blown out conversation afterwards. The days and weeks that followed that event were filled with just passing words. Simple 'Good Mornings' and 'How Are You''s. Nothing more, sometimes less.

"You know I didn't mean what I said," Leo murmured finally.

 _You got a bunch ugly scars for being somebody's guinea pig._

 _Someone's lab rat._

 _Hell, maybe you were never even kidnapped._

 _Maybe you did all the crap to yourself and you ran away from your home._

 _It isn't all about you Jade._

The whole backlash took seconds for him to say. Words cut deeper than knives, "Then what did you mean?"

"Nothing," A sigh, "I was frustrated and even more so because it was my own fault getting to that point. I had so much pride in myself that when Splinter shut me down, I didn't really know what to do. I bursted."

I wasn't sure how to take that, for a lack of a better word, excuse. It still didn't sit right with me. Ya, Leo got all bummed out when his egotistical superiority was crushed but it didn't excuse the things he said, "Did you say those things because they were bottled up inside? Did your _frustration_ just let them pour out finally?"

A long beat. Leo's frown was more than just a pessimistic expression, it was borderline hurting. It was the look of one who was emotionally aching but wasn't quite ready to spill tears, "No," That was firm, "I don't know why I said those things. I know they're not true."

I didn't know either. Maybe I'll never know. Leo was never one to lie about such things but he wouldn't have said them if even a small part of him didn't think those words were true. I found that heartbreaking in it's own way. My brother and I were undoubdtedly closer than any other duo in the family, to hear such a lack of faith tumble out of his mouth was still difficult for me to grasp. I didn't acknowledge this. Maybe I should have.

"Meeting with Oroku Saki probably wasn't the best solution though," Leo stated after a short silence.

"Did you figure that out before or after he killed you?" I eyed him.

Leo shook his head, looking down at his feet as he walked, "I just thought I was doing the right thing, you know? Everything Oroku Saki was saying made so much sense."

I wanted to understand. I really did. Leonardo had a pure heart, a selfless heart. And Saki was somehow manipulative enough to convince even the most honorable warrior that joining him would do justice, even after all the stories of how much bad Saki had proven to do. Leonardo's pure heart was tainted in a way, scratched. The will to do good was one of Leonardo's weaknesses and it was used against him. I just couldn't imagine hearing Oroku Saki's poisonous words spill from his mouth and think that even for a second, joining him was right.

More silence. This time it was drawn out for a long while. We turned as the sewer tunnel did. The sound of our footsteps echoed off the bricks walls and we passed by a dead end tunnel with a manhole cover. It led off to Manchester and 12th. Almost two miles from where our home was.

Leo sniffed, "Earlier, I was thinking about the last time we tangled with the Shredder. I nearly got us all killed. I nearly got _you_ killed-"

"You _were_ killed," I put.

Leo nodded solemnly, "I failed. I let everybody down."

"Being leader is hard," I sighed, "But in no way, shape, or form was it your fault that we all almost died. We were just overwhelmed. We weren't together. We were cut off from each other and when we're not working as a team, we get crushed."

My brother tilted his head back with closed eyes in a way that told me he really didn't believe what I'd just said.

"You don't gotta believe what I'm saying but we just have to learn from our mistakes. Otherwise this little infiltration at Foot Headquarters is going to go horribly wrong."

"That's what I'm afraid of," He murmured, almost defeatedly.

I frowned, "You sound like you've already given up."

"I haven't given up. I'm just… I'm just can't help wondering if Splinter put the right turtle in charge. How can I keep this team together if I can't even keep it together myself?"

I bobbed my head off to the side, "Well who else would he put in charge? Mikey glosses over just about everything that doesn't involve the actual fighting. Putting him in charge of others would be a nightmare. Raph is a fight first ask questions later kind of guy and would charge into a battle without thinking of the outcome. Donnie would be the only other viable 'leader material' turtle in my opinion but he'd succumb to the pressure pretty quickly. He's a follower, not a leader," I noted understanding in my brothers eyes, "And I'm the youngest. I'm not cut out for leading a team of ninja turtles. You're the only one here who's mentally and physically strong enough to keep us together…"

"I couldn't the last time," Leo said abruptly.

I sighed heavily, "Not everything is going to go your way. It would be impossible for a plan to go exactly as planned. We just have to roll with it. You know?"

Leo nodded again, this time more calmly. He was silent for another long while he considered all I said before finally pulling a small smile, "Thank you Jade… For walking with me."

It wasn't the talk I was hoping for or was expecting to have but then again, I want really sure what I was expecting. But I was happy knowing that we got some things off our chests. Our relationship wasn't entirely mended but knots had been tied, the rest would come with a little time.

I smiled, "Of course, Ani."

 _Ani_ \- big brother


End file.
